Hopeless
by x.xOracles.Shadowx.x
Summary: 17 years after Homecoming, and the queens and misfits of Rosewood are back. Welcome home, everyone. - Moderately AU after first half of S1. E/T, H/L, A/E eventually , S/A. - DOWN FOR EDITING; Details to come. Oracle.
1. Thursday Pt 1

**AN: Hey guys! I'm back. :) Sorry this has taken so horribly long, but I've been caught up in school and all that lovely fun. -.-; This is the long awaited (I hope?) debut of, 'Hopeless', or if you prefer, 'The Hopeless Man's Road to Hell'. Predominantly E/T, but there's also S/A, H/L, and A/E. And, a surprise pairing for Jenna! **

**So, summary: **

_17 years after Homecoming and Hanna, Emily, Spencer and Aria are back together and ready to rule Rosewood once again. A is gone, and life for the former teen queens couldn't be better. Emily owns a fitness studio, Hanna is a pediatrician, Spencer is a tax accountant and pregnant, and Aria is an English Lit. teacher and a single mom. What could possibly go wrong? Hint: Rosewood's about to welcome back some very familiar faces, and the girls will learn that Alison's isn't the only face from the past they'll have to contend with._

**A few minor notes on this first chapter:  
-****I've got... 31 pages already written for the first 'Chapter', but I'm breaking it up just for the sake of suspense and such. Also, for chapter titles, I've broken up the story time line into 'days' (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday etc). The story will be beginning on a Thursday, so that will be the title of the chapter (Thursday pt. 1, Thursday pt. 2, etc).  
****  
-I've taken some great liberties with the plot line, but I think it will work out. I don't think it's too unrealistic, but we'll see what happens.**

-Jenna can see. She underwent an operation and it managed to restore her sight, leaving her only needing to wear reading glasses. I thought of leaving her blind, but there was just something about it that didn't sit right with me. Also, I wanted to put her in a position where she would be able to interfere between Toby and Emily and having her as the receptionist just seemed like the safest bet.

-Oh, yes, names. I've yet to come up with a name for Spencer's baby, so any suggestions are welcome even though the baby won't be  
arriving for a while. As for Aria's daughter, I've named her Ellison (El-= Ella, Aria's mother. -lison = Alison.)

- Just getting it out of the way now: Ben and Maya are dating. I know it's absurd, but it's a very effective plot device. I am going to tear that jerk apart in due time, no worries.

- Wren will be making an appearance, though not until the 'Friday' chapters. Hehe. I know, I'm evil. I'm a Spencer/Alex shipper, but Wren is just yummy so I have to find someway to bring him back. Mellisa will also be popping up, as will Mike, Mona (No, I don't care that she maybe dies. She has a part to play in my story, hence why it's slightly AU.), Ian, Wilden, Jason, Sean (Yuck.), Ella, Byron, Ashley, Tom (Hanna's dad's name apparently. Says IMBD, I believe.), Isabel, Kate, Noal and a couple others that I may see fit to bring up! Oh I am going to have fun with this. :P

**I think that's pretty much it... If I forgot anything, I'll add it in with the next chapter. Forgive me, this first one is a little word-y, but I have to get all the details out of the way at the beginning so no one is confused later on. Just bear with me, it'll get easier. Without further ado, I give you the first chapter of 'Hopeless'. Enjoy! **

**PS: In case anyone missed it, I own absolutely nothing. I just play with the characters for my own amusement and creative purposes. So, don't sue, okay?**

Fall had reared it's golden head in the town of Rosewood, Pennsylvania, the summer fading to a fond memory and a new school year fast approaching. Emily Fields, owner and management of Fields' Fitness Studio, Rosewood's new fitness establishment, looked over her yoga studio as men and women of all ages gathered up their things at the end of another class. When Emily had returned home from university, she decided to combine a degree in business management and the physical fitness which came naturally to her and open a fitness studio in her hometown.

That had been almost two years before, and after getting Hanna, Spencer and Aria together, she buckled down and bought an old two story building in the heart of the downtown sector. It hadn't been easy; she'd needed to work three jobs and live with Aria and her daughter for a year before she could afford to buy the place outright, but she'd done it. With Spencer in her corner as her financial planner, Alex as her realtor, Lucas as her tech support and Aria and Hanna as her interior designers, Emily's studio had come to life in a little under two years.

The week before their opening, she'd held interviews for a receptionist position and hadn't had any real hope she'd find someone capable enough to put in the hours necessary. So it came as a complete shock to her when the newly seeing Jenna Cavanaugh walked into the studio and asked about the receptionist job. After an hour of questions and another hour of chatting about what each other had been up to the past seventeen years, Jenna was hired. The girls' reaction hadn't been as bad as she'd expected; as it turned out, Jenna had left a job as a receptionist at Rosewood Day when she found out about Emily's job opening, saying she'd rather work and help an old friend at the same time.

"Great class, Em.", Hanna complimented, bringing Emily back into the world of the living. Hanna hadn't really changed since high school. Still blonde, still beautiful, and still at the height of what was fashionable. What had changed was that she and Sean had broken up a year or so after graduation, with him staying in Rosewood to join the police training academy while she'd gone to Northwestern for medical studies, eventually settling on pediatrics of all things. She'd been single for about a year before Lucas stopped by her residence for a visit, and by the end of the weekend, he'd transferred from MIT to Northwestern. They'd moved in together the year after, and after graduation they'd returned to Rosewood and hadn't left each other's side since. When Emily began taking members at her studio, Hanna's name had been the first on the list for a yoga class membership, with Aria and Spencer's names taking the second and third spots.

Of course, her return to Rosewood hadn't been all sunshine and rainbows. The girls had been thrilled of course, and her parents had been glad to see her, but the weekend she moved into Aria's house, Maya showed up. She had been rightfully angry with Emily, seeing as she'd pulled up stakes and left town without telling Maya face to face, only sending her a text message saying she couldn't do it anymore, she was leaving and that it was over. The bizarre thing was that Maya hadn't seemed upset over being dumped in such a way, just angry that Emily hadn't taken her with her or at least talked to her about it first. While Emily and Maya talked on Aria's front lawn, a car that was all too familiar to Emily pulled up behind Maya's. She distinctly remembered that day in the locker room all those years later, and when Ben Coogan stepped out of his car, her skin turned cold and her feet told her to run.

When Ben called out to she and Maya, she heard the front door of Aria's townhouse open with a clatter and knew Aria had run out onto the front porch. Thanks to "A", Emily had needed to tell the girls everything that had brought she and Toby together in high school, including Ben's controlling ways and his eventual rape attempt. The girls had been livid and, though Emily had been 1600 miles away at the time, she'd heard about Ben's nose being broken by Spencer from her mom, Aria and everyone in between.

Finding out Ben and Maya were dating was, to Emily, a signal of the coming apocalypse. She'd looked at Aria in bewilderment, then wished them well and told Maya that she was invited to dinner when she and the girls went out that night to celebrate. Maya had turned down the invitation but said she'd take them up on it later. Since then, she'd made an effort to avoid Ben and it had worked relatively well. Maya had signed up for a kickboxing class so she and Emily were able to catch up then, with Emily keeping a conscious eye out for any bruises. She may not have had romantic feelings for Maya any longer, but she still considered them friends and wanted to look out for her.

"Yeah, seems your yoga classes are really catching on around town. There are twice as many people here as there were last week.", Aria agreed, walking over with the pregnant Spencer. Aria, still a small, level headed, beautiful brunette, was a single mom, raising her now teenaged daughter Ellison in her old townhouse with her brother. Aria had been a year into teacher's college when she moved in with Noal and a year later, she was pregnant with Ellison.

When little Ellie was born, Aria and Noal fought constantly and Aria moved out with the baby. The next week, Noal and his band skipped town and Aria, who moved back with her dad and brother in the family house, hadn't been all that upset by it, saying she was more than ready to be a mom while the idea terrified Noal, so she hadn't been that surprised he hadn't left a forwarding address. She finished her training to be an English teacher and as the best English student in her graduating year, she was offered a job at Rosewood Day. Her moving back home while pregnant turned out to be a good thing because her parents were able to rebuild a friendship over their love for their kids and their coming grandchild. While it was clear from her dad's solid relationship with Ashley Marin that they wouldn't be reconciling, Ella moved back into the townhouse to help get Aria ready for a baby, so Aria had her entire family together for the first years of Ellie's life.

"Thanks guys. I hope so, I sank everything I had into this studio.", Emily told them, waving to some people who'd stayed behind to chat with their friends. "But I think people are really enjoying them. What do you guys think?"

"I love it, and no complaints from baby Santiago yet, Em.", Spencer answered with a smile. Spencer was four months pregnant, dating and living with Alex Santiago, as she had been since she graduated university. Alex had stayed in Rosewood while Spencer went to Harvard on her father's insistence, and despite Mellisa hissing in her ear that Alex wouldn't stay with her, Alex had found a way to visit Spencer once a month, and she made sure to come home for every holiday until the five years between school and home no longer existed. When she graduated five years later, her parents hadn't even known she was home until she'd moved into Alex's apartment, and when she'd found out, Mellisa had been livid. Spencer had stayed much the same since the days at Rosewood Day. She was still brilliant to a fault, winning accolades left, right and center, still bitter rivals with her sister, brunette and beautiful, and still head over heels for Alex, who thought the world revolved around her. Being in the same room with them for any length of time, in the words of Aria, put your risk for cavities through the roof, but aside from Mellisa, there wasn't a person in town who didn't smile when they saw the two walking down the street window shopping, hand in hand and laughing.

"Same, and my mom went crazy over it when she came with me, Aria, El and Ms. Montgomery last week. She hasn't stopped talking about it and from what I've heard, she's recommended it to everyone she knows.", Hanna told her. When Byron moved in with Ashley, giving Aria, Ellison and Mike the house as their own, Hanna and Aria had been terrified that their moms, who'd been friends since school, would break apart. Taking pro active measures, they'd dragged the two women to yoga with them, and it had gotten the ball rolling. "We love it, Em. You're a hit! And you're a great teacher."

"And, Mike told me your kickboxing classes are big with the college kids.", Aria added. Mike had become a TA after graduating from Rosewood College with a degree in engineering.

"Oh that's great news. Tell them I really appreciate them spreading the word. I haven't even had time to get fliers drawn up.", Emily sighed, a weight taken off her shoulders. At least word was getting out. "With the studio, the loans, the house, it's been just insane these past few weeks."

"Take a breather, Em. You did it! Your dream is alive.", Hanna encouraged, shaking her shoulders slightly. Jenna's voice floated in from the lobby, and Emily heard a delivery arriving. "How's Jenna doing as your receptionist anyway?"

"She's been such a big help. Doing the schedules, arranging the music for all the classes, setting up the appointments and taking care of the memberships. I'd be sunk without her.", Emily answered. "Since we set up the swim lessons for kids at the rec center, she and Mrs. Cavanaugh have been working wonders with them, and baking snacks for the kids after their lessons."

"That's so great. And Ellie says she's great with the little kids.", Aria told them.

"She is. That reminds me, I needed to ask Jenna if she got around to checking with some local artists about potential flier designs.", Emily remembered.

"Now if that's not a perfect intro, I don't know what is.", Jenna laughed, walking into the studio. Time had been good to Jenna, and she looked almost identical to how she had before the smoke bomb. The only differences were that she had put blonde streaks in her then tied back brunette hair, and wore wire rimmed glasses. "I was just coming to tell you that one of the artists I contacted about ideas sent a sample in the mail that arrived today, Emily. Hi Hanna, Spencer, Aria."

"Hi, Jenna. I was just telling the girls about you and your mom's work with the kids swim lessons.", Emily answered as the other girls said hello, not for the first time thankful that Jenna's eye surgery had worked and her sight had returned to her.

"They're a fantastic group, and Ellie is a wonderful assistant.", Jenna agreed. Ellie had signed up to be Jenna's assistant with the swimming lessons, having been a certified life guard for a year and wanting to keep her skills sharp during the school year. Jenna handed Emily a thin manilla envelope, then said, "This was just delivered, Emily."

"Oh thanks." Emily looked at the return address and saw '901 Productions, C/O 1102 Dalton Dr., Rosewood, PA'. "I've never heard of 901 Productions before."

"It's based out of New York, the owner just moved back to town. When they heard you were looking for flier ideas, they called and asked if you'd mind them giving it a shot.", Jenna explained. Emily opened the envelope and pulled out a laminated piece of paper. The backing was deep sky blue with a windy field draw in the distance, along with a miniature scale drawing of Emily's own building. The words 'Fields' Fitness Studio' were printed above the building in white block letters, along with a drawn picture of Emily in front of the building, in a basic black yoga uniform. Underneath were the hours of operation and prices for the different level of membership.

At the bottom of the page was a phone number and the initials T.C., and Emily had no doubt about who the artist was. Her jaw dropped in response, and Hanna appeared at her back, looking over her shoulder. As Hanna scanned the image, her eyes went wide and both she and Emily could only stare at the picture.

"I know that look.", Spencer said to them as she hurried to Emily's side. Spencer could only look at the picture in confusion. "Guys?"

"I hate that look. Let me see.", Aria requested. Emily handed her the picture, and Aria and Spencer exchanged baffled looks. "Guys, what's the big deal? This is great work."

"Too great.", Hanna said as she turned to Jenna. "And familiar. Who's the artist, Jenna?"

"Someone want to fill us in?", Spencer asked, interrupting Jenna's answer. "As far as I can see, a flier isn't cause to call out the National Guard."

"Toby once gave me a CD with a cover drawn is this exact style.", Emily explained. "Jenna, Toby drew this, didn't he?"

Jenna nodded. "He called me a few weeks ago, said he was moving back to town to open a branch of his production studios and a new gallery here in Rosewood. While we were talking, the studio and you came up and I mentioned how you would need fliers drawn up. He asked if he could give it a shot, and I said sure. He's an amazing artist, Emily, and you know it."

"I know, I know. It's fine, beyond fine really. These fliers would be perfect.", Emily agreed. "Okay. Can you call Toby and tell him I loved the flier, and that if he wants he can stop by anytime after 6 this week and we'll decide on a price?"

"Will do.", Jenna answered, then nodded to the others and walked out of the studio, leaving the former queens of Rosewood Day in silence.

"Does anyone else have a really bad feeling about this?", Spencer asked.

"Just another day in paradise.", Hanna sighed.

"Guys, lets not panic just yet. Remember where that got us last time.", Aria placated them, then checked her wrist watch and jumped. "Oh no. Guys, I've gotta run. I have to go pick up Ellie from my mom's, then get home and start dinner."

"What's Ellie doing at your mom's?", Emily asked.

"She's helping her paint the living room, grandmother/granddaughter bonding time I think she called it.", Aria laughed, then cringed. "I hope mom kept my kid relatively clean, or peeling the paint off that shirt and pair of jeans is going to be tonight's little chore."

"Have fun, my dear.", Hanna sympathized with a smirk. Chances were, knowing Ellie, she'd get in Aria's car and be covered from head to toe with paint. "I've got to split too. Lucas and I are having dinner with my dad, Isabel and Kate tonight." At the thought, Hanna looked like she'd rather pull her wisdom teeth out with a pair of tweezers and no anesthetic.

"Ouch. Well, if you need an escape, text me and I'll fake some kind of pain so you can rush to my aid.", Spencer promised as the three of them winced in sympathy. Isabel was Hanna's definition of a nightmare in trashy heels. Kate wasn't as bad since they'd reached a ceasefire a few years back, but Isabel was still a major source of friction between Hanna and her dad.

"I'll hold you to that.", Hanna answered. Hanna had eventually gone back to school and received an OB/GYN license. Her inspiration for the upgrade, she later told them, was her having to help Aria give birth to Ellie as she had been the only one with any kind of medical training in attendance. Aria had gone into sudden labor and there had been no time to get her to the hospital, so Hanna and Ella had walked her through it, delivering Ellie safely. When Spencer announced she was pregnant, Hanna called dibs on being her OB/GYN. "When's Alex coming to pick you up, Spence?"

"He should be here in a bit. I sent him a text when class ended."

"Has he asked you yet?", Aria wondered. Mike's ex-girlfriend Wendy worked in a jewelery store and five months before had told the group that Alex had come into the store, looking to get an engagement ring re sized and engraved. Every time Alex or the baby came up up in conversation, the question was asked.

"If he had, you guys would know by the ring flashing on my finger and the absurd amount of happy I'd be spraying everywhere.", Spencer answered, practically glowing as she spoke of Alex. When Spencer found out about the ring, she'd been off the wall with excitement, and the following week, she learned she was pregnant. Her parents had heard about the baby and they'd been ecstatic, congratulating she and Alex and talking about baby showers and possible names.

Mellisa, however, hadn't been so happy. Spencer had called her family together for dinner to tell them, and when the words left her mouth at the table, Mellisa turned a pale shade of white and scowled. "Typical Spencer.", she'd sighed. "Stealing her sister's significant others, stealing her sister's essay, and then being stupid enough to get pregnant out of wedlock? Tisk, tisk. And to think, with the kid of a... What are you anyway, Alex? Still a ball boy, or have you moved up to pool maintenance?"

Peter and Alex hauled Spencer away from Mellisa before she killed her, and as Alex sat her down in the living room so she wouldn't over exert herself, Veronica could be heard giving Mellisa the third degree in the dining room. Mellisa got up, walked out of the dining room, grabbed her coat, flung a derogatory term at Spencer and walked out the front door, slamming it shut behind her. After a substantial amount of profanity which was ignored by her parents, Spencer had called her sister every name in the book and Alex had been apologized to several times by both Peter and Veronica. In an attempt to relieve the tension in the room, Alex took a seat next to Spencer on the couch, wrapped an arm around her and said,

"So, I assume the name Mellisa is out of the running if the baby is a girl?" Spencer just laughed and buried her face into his shoulder. To make matters worse, while the family sat in the living room discussing names, the phone rang. Peter had answered it, and when he stood in silence, Spencer guessed it was Mellisa calling, having thought of another slew of colorful insults to hurl at her sister. Peter took the phone from his ear, looked at Spencer and said,

"Um, Spencer, it's for you. It's Wren."

Spencer had been too shocked to form a coherent reply, and Veronica had hissed quietly at him to just hang up. Veronica stood and took Spencer's hand. "Spencer honey, come with me into the study. I'm sure I've got some old baby name books hanging around, we'll take a look for them while your father and Alex talk." Veronica lead Spencer away and the younger Hastings daughter was still shaking when she and Alex left for home two hours later.

"Speak of the devil, here's Alex now!", Emily pointed out when Alex entered the studio.

"Hi, girls. Hey, honey.", Alex greeted, hugging Spencer then kissing her. He rubbed her stomach and said, "Hello, my little monster. I hope you're being good for your mommy."

"Hi. We were just talking about you.", Spencer replied, her hands on his shoulders. "And don't worry, your little monster has been on their best behavior so far."

"Something I keep thinking I'll get used to, but I never do.", Alex laughed, putting his keys in his back pocket. Alex had gone through school for business management and opened a realty office after graduating. He'd cornered the market in Rosewood, and when Spencer returned, he had a home set up for them and waiting for her.

While Spencer, Hanna and Emily were away, Aria, Mike and Alex became close friends, with Alex and Mike going to football games and Aria being Alex's emergency contact when it came to buying presents for anniversaries and birthdays. During their time in Rosewood, Alex had had more than one run in with Sean over Aria's love life, and while Aria had told Sean to back off repeatedly, Alex had needed to step in a fair few times. Hanna had remained largely oblivious to the antics of her ex until Aria finally drove to Northwestern with Ellie and brought her up to speed. "Good things I hope? Please don't make me hide behind my unborn child."

"Of course only good things. You know we think the world of you, Alex.", Aria promised him.

"Just make sure you take care of Spence and the hell raiser inside of her, and we'll keep thinking the world of you.", Hanna added with a kidding smile. She adored Alex, and thought he and Spencer were a match made in high IQ heaven.

"Of course. I think her mom would kill me before you girls could lift a finger.", Alex answered, wrapping his arms around Spencer's waist.

"So how was work?", Spencer asked.

"Not bad. That reminds me though, I've got some news for Emily. I had an interesting meeting just before I came here.", Alex told them.

"News for me?", Emily asked, confused.


	2. Thursday Pt 2

**AN: Here's chapter two, everyone. Thank you to Jenn for reviewing the first chapter. Your review absolutely made my day, and I'm so glad you enjoyed the first chapter. Hopefully this doesn't disappoint. :)**

**Enjoy! **

**Disclaimer: I own nada. My name isn't Sara Sharpe, so I'm clearly making no money off this whatsoever.**

"Meeting with who?", Spencer asked.

"Toby Cavanaugh stopped by my office this afternoon. He was interested in buying a house in his old neighborhood.", Alex revealed. "The one he settled on checking out, Emily, was the house down the block from your place."

"But the only place for sale in my neighborhood is Ali's old house.", Emily answered. Maya's family had moved out during Emily's absence from Rosewood, with Maya moving into an apartment near the college and her parents moving back out west.

"I know. He wanted a place near his parents' house and the old DiLaurentis house was the only one for sale within a two block radius. I don't think he was too happy about it, but he asked me to get a date where he could do a walk through and check the place out.", Alex elaborated.

"Wow. So, you and Toby will be neighbors again, Em?", Aria asked.

"Maybe.", Emily replied. The idea of Toby living in Ali's old house sent a shiver down her spine, but then again, she got that same reaction whenever she passed by the old house anyway.

"Wait, didn't Jason buy the house back from Maya's family when they moved out?", Spencer asked. Jason DiLaurentis had moved back to Rosewood and took a job at the law firm where Mellisa worked, and as far as anyone knew, was planning on tearing the house down and building a new memorial to Alison.

"He did. I called him after Toby left and told him about it, since he still owns the house and I can't set up a viewing without his permission. When he heard Toby's name, his reaction wasn't the greatest, but he agreed to let him see the house.", Alex agreed.

"Knowing Jason, he'll gouge Toby for every penny he's got. He's still bent on the idea that Toby killed Ali.", Hanna speculated with a frown. Whether he was Ali's brother or not, the girls would never like him after he'd high jacked Ali's memorial from them.

"Toby can handle him.", Emily was sure. That wasn't to say she was thrilled with Toby moving in near her, but she could handle him better than she could Jason, who was still as arrogant as he had been in high school. She hadn't had any direct contact with Jason since his return, but Mellisa had started taking cardio classes at the gym, so she and Emily were able to chat once in a while. Mellisa and Jason had worked together at the law firm for a year, and when Mellisa Hastings calls someone insufferable, you know it's bad.

"Oh boy. Headache, here we come.", Hanna sighed then checked her wrist watch. "Guys, I hate to yoga and run, but I need to get home and get ready. Isabel won't take us showing up late very well." Hanna's phone rang in her jacket pocket, and when she fished it out, a smile a mile wide lit her face.

"Let me guess. Lucas?", Emily teased.

"Hush you.", Hanna answered with a smirk, then answered the call. "Hey Luke."

"_Hi Han. Listen, I hate to interrupt your yoga or whatever you girls do, but I've got bad news._", Lucas answered. Hanna could hear it in his voice that this wasn't good.

"What is it?"

"_Isabel just called to tell us she's having another person over for dinner tonight. Sean. She wanted to make sure it wouldn't be awkward._"

"You have got to be kidding me.", Hanna gasped. "She thought inviting my psycho ex to dinner wouldn't be awkward if she called ahead!"

"_That was her logic. Do you want to cancel?_", Lucas asked.

"No. My dad is expecting us." Hanna frowned. "Guess we'll just have to bite the bullet and go through with it. Do you want to skip it?"

"_No, of course not. I'll go, but if Sean says one single word, I won't be held responsible._", Lucas answered. "_Lets just go and have a good time with your dad. Isabel and Kate can deal with Sean._"

"Alright, if you're sure. I'll be home soon.", Hanna told him. "Love you."

"_See you soon. Love you too. Say hi to everyone for me._", Lucas responded, then hung up a second later. Hanna put her cell phone back into her pocket, and frowned again.

"Isabel invited Sean to dinner? Yuck.", Spencer asked.

"Looks that way. I should have known something like this would happen, Isabel hates Lucas. I should ask how the renovations to her glass house are coming.", Hanna scowled.

"That's brutal, Han.", Emily consoled.

"And here's me thinking my night couldn't get any worse.", Hanna sighed. "I'll see you guys later."

"Good luck.", Spencer added as Hanna exited the studio to where her car was parked.

"I've gotta split too. Em, do you need a ride?", Aria asked.

"No, thanks. I brought my car, and I'm giving Jenna a ride home. See you later. Say hi to Ellie for me.", Emily answered. Aria nodded, then said goodbye to Spencer and Alex and walked out.

"We should be going too, my mom wants us over later to look at baby stuff.", Spencer told Emily with a roll of her eyes.

"Have fun. Are we still going out for dinner tomorrow night?", Emily asked. Since the "A" disaster, the four girls had gone out for dinner to catch up every Friday evening, leaving Alex and Lucas to look after Ellie after she'd reached the double digits. They considered it 'Girl's Night', and their time to be themselves without the weight of responsibilities. While they went out, Lucas and Alex watched Ellie at Hanna and Lucas' apartment. Lucas called it his 'Nerd Time' with the young gamer Ellie had turned out to be, while Alex was amused watching a grown man and a twelve year old yell at a TV as they played Mortal Combat on the big screen.

"I wouldn't miss it. The Grill at 7?", Spencer affirmed.

"I'll be there.", Emily agreed. "See you guys later."

"Bye, Em.", Spencer bid farewell, giving the instructor a hug which Alex then mirrored. Unlike most girlfriends, Spencer was thrilled that her best friends got along with Alex to the point that they were comfortable exchanging hugs. It was just another point in his favor as far as she was concerned.

The two lovebirds of Rosewood walked out of the studio hand in hand, and Jenna exchanged goodbyes with them on the way out of the building. Emily gave the room a once over, making sure everything was in place before she left for the night. Seeing that everything was as it should have been, Emily walked out of the studio to the front desk where Jenna stood, flipping through records in a filing folder.

"Hey, are you almost ready to leave?", Emily asked as she stood by the desk. Jenna gave her a nod without looking up from the folder.

"Sure thing. I'm ready anytime you are.", she answered. "I called Toby, by the way. He said he'd be by tomorrow to talk about the fliers."

"Okay, good.", Emily agreed while thinking, 'Oh boy. He doesn't let the grass grow under his feet, does he?' "I'm going to go jump in the shower and then we can get out of here."

"I'll be here.", Jenna promised, giving her a fleeting smile.

"Is everything alright?", Emily asked. Jenna was normally much more talkative with Emily. She was still uncomfortable around the other girls, but was always very social with Emily and Ellie. Right then she seemed nervous, and hadn't made eye contact.

Jenna set the file down on the table, then looked up at Emily. "Emily, I'm sorry about springing the flier on you like that. I thought, since you know how amazing Toby's art is, that you'd be okay with it. I'm sorry if it made you uncomfortable or anything."

"Jenna, it's fine, really.", Emily assured her. "It was just a shock. I haven't heard from Toby in years, so it was just surprising. I'm really glad he's designing in the fliers. Now I know they'll be perfect."

"I' m glad. He's really looking forward to seeing you again.", Jenna revealed, making Emily blush. Which, she told herself firmly, shouldn't have happened. She was over Toby Cavanaugh, had been for years. It hadn't been easy, but she'd done it.

'Was that before or after he up and left Rosewood without so much as a goodbye?', a little voice in her mind asked her. Emily promptly told the voice to shut up.

"It'll be good to catch up with him." There. That was about as non committal as she could manage. Her dad was a Lt. Colonel; she knew how to school her emotions. She wasn't a pro, but it was a skill she'd honed the years after Toby left town.

"Emily, please don't be mad at him. With the whole mess with Alison-", Jenna began.

"I'm not mad at him.", Emily cut her off, the harsh tone to that statement making it completely unbelievable to Jenna's ears. Jenna held up her hands in a symbolic gesture of surrender, and Emily sighed, instantly feeling guilty for biting Jenna's head off. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have snapped at you."

"It's okay, Emily. I understand. He left you high and dry, I don't blame you for being upset.", Jenna told her.

"It was a long time ago. We're all adults now, right?", Emily asked with a laugh. Adults who hadn't had a chance to be teenagers because of the games of a psycho. The instructor turned and walked to the bathroom entrance. "I'm going to go shower, I won't be long."

"Emily?", Jenna asked. Emily turned and met Jenna's eyes. "Whatever you might believe, he really missed you when he was gone. Leaving without telling you tore him apart."

There wasn't a response that Emily could give, so she nodded to Jenna and continued her walk to the showers. As the door shut behind Emily, Jenna couldn't help but smile.

'She's as hopeless as Toby.', Jenna sighed to herself, getting her purse and checking her cell phone for any messages. Predictably, there was a text from Toby with a not so subtle inquiry into how Emily was taking him being back in town. She sighed, then snapped her phone shut. Men, honestly. It had taken every persuasive argument in her roster to convince him to submit a design for the studio, and in the end it had come down to her threatening to pick one he'd done at random and submit it in his name with a signed and sealed love letter before he'd agree to do one himself.

But if her plan worked, they would be back together by the end of Toby's first six months back in Rosewood. The two things she'd learned from Alison were how to read people, and how to be sneaky. Luckily, she knew Toby like he knew himself, and she worked with Emily. Though Emily denied it to herself at every turn, Jenna saw the truth. Emily was still hurting, there was no doubt about that. Toby's leaving had cut her deeply, and that wound hadn't healed yet. Under the wound though, there were the feelings that had driven Toby to come back to plead his innocence to her after the Homecoming disaster, that had driven Emily to lie to the police about what had happened. Those feelings lived still in Emily, and it was clear to see in the blush she could never quite manage to banish whenever Jenna brought up Toby in conversation.

It wasn't going to be easy, but Jenna was used to working around obstacles. Emily was as stubborn as a mule, and Toby still had major self confidence issues to work through, but Jenna knew that between the two of them, nothing was impossible. She'd been in love with Toby, that was no secret. The whole damn town knew. But she also genuinely loved him as a person, and when he'd broken things off with her, it had hurt but it was for the best. She saw that now, just as she saw that what was best for Toby was Emily, and vice versa. It was just a matter of making them see it, and the formerly blind girl was determined to make that happen.

'Of course, Toby really hasn't made this easy for me.', Jenna groused, slipping her jacket on. Anyone with eyes could see that him just leaving out of the blue was something that still stung Emily to that day, and would probably be the biggest road block between them. For them to work, Emily had to trust that he wasn't going to just up and leave her again, which would be no easy task. Her stupid step brother, she thought lovingly as she dialed his number. He'd left to make life easier for he and Emily, so he could get away from the Alison mess once he'd been cleared of her murder, and so Emily and Maya could have a decent chance to be together. What he hadn't known until Jenna hit him with a clue by four was that, soon after he left, Emily pulled up roots and left town. It just went to show, she thought. The road to Hell really was paved with good intentions, and Toby's had landed he and Emily in a self made purgatory that Jenna would have to use all her meddling skills to get them out of.

"_Jenna, what's up?_", Toby's voice asked over her cell phone.

"Emily's giving me a ride home. I want you to meet me at the door.", Jenna told him point blank. She'd learned long ago that with Toby, straight forward was the best way. The boy was a genius in his own right, but Lord could he be obtuse. He should have been a lawyer.

"_Jenna, no. I can't just spring that on Emily._" And there was the stupid sigh in his voice. She was always amused by just how far gone he was over Emily. If you knew him and listened hard enough, whenever he said her name, his voice got just a little softer. She knew this because a) she knew Toby, and b) she heard the same thing in Emily's voice whenever she said Toby's name. They were a match made in oblivious Heaven.

"Toby, there's no use being afraid of her. She wants to see you." Even if she didn't know it yet.

"_... Really?_", Toby asked. Jenna rolled her eyes skyward as she heard the water running to the showers.

"Yes, really. Toby, she does care for you." She wasn't going to just hand this to him, he had to want to be with Emily again for this to work. "You don't even have to say anything, just meet me at the door to the house after I get out of the car. Just make sure you make yourself look pretty." As long as they saw each other so Jenna could gauge their reactions, that would be enough.

"_Jenna, don't get involved. Me and Emily, we're in the past. This is a strictly working relationship._", Toby warned her. Jenna fought the urge to scoff. They say that everything old becomes new again, and Toby and Emily's relationship would follow that trend if it was the last thing she did.

"Uh huh. Keep telling yourself that.", Jenna answered, listening to the water in the showers shut off. "Listen, I should be home in twenty minutes or so. You want go to get take out when I get there? I don't really feel like cooking."

"_Sounds good. And fine, I'll meet you at the doorway, but that's it, Jen._", Toby told her firmly. She snickered to herself. Oh poor, poor Toby. If he believed that, he was in for a nasty shock. Alison had been an exceptionally good teacher, and Toby had no idea what he'd be walking into.

"Yes, yes, whatever you say. So sue me for trying to help two people I happen to care about.", Jenna sighed.

"_I know you mean well, but this is a mess you don't need to get involved in_." A little late for that, since she'd been sick of his mooning over Emily since the second month he'd been gone from Rosewood.

"I know. Just keep an open mind okay? You never know. It's been fifteen years since you last saw each other.", Jenna pointed out. Fifteen dreadfully long years, where she'd snapped and told him to just suck it up and call her more times than she could count.

"_I do know. I'll see you when you get home, okay?_", Toby sighed.

"See you then.", Jenna agreed, hanging up. She looked at the phone and shook her head. "Ugh. Absolutely hopeless."

"Who's absolutely hopeless?", Emily asked from behind her. Jenna jumped then turned to face Emily, whose hair was still damp and tied in a bun.

"Toby. He called and told me he'd had a disaster in the kitchen.", Jenna lied with a laugh. Toby was actually a great cook, but hopefully Emily didn't know that.

"Ah.", was her only response. "Well, should we get going before it gets too late?"

"Lead the way.", Jenna answered and the two women walked out the studio's front door, Emily locking the door and setting the security system.

**AN: I know, I'm spacing this out, but it'll be worth it. :) **

**I hope you enjoyed chapter 2, guys. Thank you so much for reading, feel free to review. Have an awesome night! Chances are chapter 3 will be posted before midnight. :P Now that I'm posting it, I just want to get all of Thursday done so I can get to work on Friday. xD**

**Much love,  
Oracle. (L) (L)**


	3. Thursday Pt 3

**AN: Here's Thursday, Pt. 3 :)**

**Disclaimer: Obviously I don't own them or I wouldn't be agonizing over a COMM project due on Friday. So there. =P**

The two walked to where Emily's Corolla was parked and once they'd got in, Emily asked, "So, what else did Toby say when he called you?"

'Hook, line and sinker.', Jenna snickered but shrugged in answer. "Nothing really. He asked if he should come and get me and I told him you were giving me a ride home."

Emily didn't respond, and the two drove in silence as the radio sang to them. While waiting for a red light, Jenna decided to do some digging. "Hey, Emily? Can I ask you a personal question?"

If Emily was uncomfortable, she didn't show it. "Sure."

"Why did you leave town?" She knew at least part of that reason was because Toby had left, but she wanted to know if there was something else.

Emily laughed a little as the light turned green. "I left because Rosewood was just getting to be too small for me. I wanted to see what else there was out there, and it wasn't like there was anything here for me anymore."

"What about Maya?"

"Maya... I liked her, I really did. But she just wasn't what I needed. I knew I couldn't find it here in Rosewood, so I left home to find it."

"And did you?", Jenna asked. She noticed Emily's knuckles grow white on the steering wheel, and saw the expression of despair she hurriedly wiped from her face.

"No. I left home, looked all over the country and I never found it. So, I settled down, went to university, got my degree and came back here.", Emily answered.

"Do you even know what it is?", Jenna wondered.

"Yeah. I've been waiting for it for fifteen years, searched in every town from coast to coast for it." Emily smiled grimly as she drove through the quiet streets of Rosewood. "Eventually, I learned to live without it and started to pick up the pieces of my life."

Jenna felt sorry for her and stayed silent. Her answer only strengthened Jenna's resolve. She didn't care if she had to bash their heads together, Toby and Emily would realize that they were meant to be together if it killed her. It just wasn't right, keeping themselves apart for some messed up version of righteousness. They belonged together, and it was up to Jenna to make them see it.

The drive passed in companionable silence for the next ten minutes and Emily soon pulled up in front of Jenna's house. She kept an eye on Emily, and didn't miss how her eyes flew to where Toby's motorcycle was parked in the driveway, Toby's toolbox laying next to it. Jenna turned to Emily and smiled, while keeping an ear out for Toby.

"Thanks for the ride, Emily. I appreciate it.", Jenna thanked her, gathering her coat and purse from the floor of the car.

"No problem, Jenna. See you tomorrow.", Emily answered with a grin. The door opened to Jenna's house and the man of the hour appeared. He and Emily became locked in a dead stare, making Jenna feel as though she were caught in the middle of a very tense fight. Toby gave her a nod in greeting, and Emily quirked her lips into a half grin.

Jenna, for one, wanted to jump up and down in glee. You'd have to be blind, deaf and dumb to miss the weight of that stare, and even that was a stretch. And the smile that pulled its way onto Toby's face at Emily's half grin was priceless. How, she asked herself, had these two managed to miss what was so obvious?

"He hasn't changed.", Emily commented, sounding off in a daze.

"Nope. Same old Toby. You want to come in for a bit?", Jenna offered. That seemed to snap Emily back to her senses, and her expression alone told Jenna that she was going to decline. Emily's expression warped to one of surprise when a shadow fell on the passenger side of the car and Jenna turned to find Toby leaning in the window of Emily's car.

"Emily. It's been a while.", Toby greeted. Jenna could see the fear that was reflecting in his eyes, but also the same intensity that was always in those blue eyes whenever miss Emily Fields was concerned.

"Toby. Yes, it has been. How've you been?", Emily asked. Jenna wondered if she'd looked that excitedly awkward around Toby as a teenager. If she hadn't been sitting in her car, Jenna wagered she'd have been looking at her shoes and shuffling her feet.

"Surviving, making a name for myself. You? You look... great.", Toby answered. Jenna wanted to smack him. Beautiful, amazing, gorgeous, stunning, wonderful, fantastic. There were a thousand other adjectives he could have used to describe her, and he chooses great? Oy. This was going to take a lot of work, and possibly a thesaurus.

"Thanks, you too. You look... You look great." Et tu, Emily? Jenna sighed. Love really did make people do the darnedest things, and apparently that included forgetting that their vocabulary went beyond a fifth grade level. "I saw the flier, I loved it. Your art is still amazing."

"Thanks, I hoped you'd like it." Jenna couldn't believe it. With one comment, Emily Fields, swimmer extraordinaire, fitness entrepreneur and sweetheart of Rosewood, had made Toby Cavanaugh, popular artist and misfit biker, blush! He was honest to goodness blushing! Do wonders never cease, Jenna thought to herself. "I kept meaning to drop by the studio and check it out, but things just piled on top of each other and I haven't had the chance." Liar. The idea of going to the studio and facing Emily had terrified him. Jenna had only suggested it six times since he'd moved into their parents' house.

"You should. There's a kickboxing class tomorrow, why don't you come and sit in? We can figure out the flier details after the class.", Emily offered.

"I'll definitely try to make it, though I warn you, I'm a little rusty.", Toby replied with a smile. Emily smiled back, a blush lighting her face, and Jenna could practically hear her heart beating like a jack rabbit in her chest. Pfft. Yeah, she was over him all right. And Jenna had a bridge in Brooklyn she was trying to sell.

"Well, the class starts at 5 and it's in the studio's main gym. I'm sure Jenna can make sure you find it okay.", Emily answered, grinning.

"I'll be there. Do you want to come in for a bit? We could catch up.", Toby offered.

Emily turned and looked at her steering wheel again, and Jenna watched the wheels in her head spin in thought. She looked back at Toby and gave him a genuine smile, then said, "I can't, I'm late for dinner with my parents as is. Can I take a rain check?"

"For sure, you know where I'll be.", Toby replied, smiling back at her. Neither one said another word, they just stared at each other from opposite sides of the car with Jenna in the middle. She decided that that was enough of a meeting between the two for now. She had something she could work with, since she now knew that both still felt the same.

"We should let you go, Emily. Thanks again for the ride.", Jenna broke in, bringing both to the world around them. Toby took a step away from the car, then put his hands in his pockets and he looked for all the world like he hadn't had a clue as to what had just happened. Emily, from the look on her face as she faced the road ahead of her, wasn't faring much better.

"No problem, Jenna. I guess I'll be seeing you... both at the studio tomorrow.", Emily said to them, then gave them a strained smile. "Bye guys, have a good night."

"You too. Drive safe.", Jenna remarked. Emily nodded, then gave Toby another smile and without another word, drove down the street and quickly vanished from sight. Jenna turned to Toby who watched where her car had vanished around the corner, and shook her head. "I've said it before and I'll say it again. Hopeless!"

"What?", Toby asked, coming out of his daze and looking at Jenna like she'd appeared out of no where. She could only roll her eyes and pray she didn't just haul back and smack him.

"Honestly. I go to the trouble of getting her here so you can make a good impression, and all you can say is that she looks great?", Jenna asked in disbelief. "She already knows she looks great, Toby. Every girl with a sense of self worth knows that about themselves!"

"Jenna, don't start.", Toby sighed, then turned and walked to the house.

"I know what I saw, Toby. You're still in love with her!", Jenna accused pointedly.

Toby turned a little green at those words, but shook his head as he pulled the door open and walked inside. "I told you, Emily and I are ancient history."

"Say that to the thirty seconds of longing stares I just sat through!", Jenna called after him then followed him in the house.

"Well she clearly didn't look too happy to see me, so I don't see why it even matters.", Toby answered when Jenna joined him in the living room.

"Of course she didn't! Toby, you broke her heart! I wouldn't jump at the chance to have a coffee with you either.", Jenna shot back, then sat on the couch. "Look Toby, don't lie to me. I know you still have feelings for Emily, and she still has feelings for you. Just give it a chance, okay? And for heaven's sake, don't screw it up this time or you really won't get another chance!"

Around the corner from Jenna's house, Emily sat in her car, stunned. What the hell had just happened? She'd all but given Toby Cavanaugh an all access pass back into her life.

Emily leaned against her steering wheel and let out a yell. What had she been thinking, inviting him to the kickboxing class? Where had her brain gone and buggered off to when she saw Toby? What good could come of this? And then there was the, 'You look great' comment.

'Seriously, Fields?', she asked herself. 'Really? That was the best you could come up with? It's been fifteen years, for God's sake, and you still trip over your words around him?'

But to be fair, as it had been to Jenna, time had been equally good to Toby. He still had the shaggy, dark brown hair, and those damn blue eyes of his were still as bright and sharp as ever. He looked taller, which was saying something considering he'd been as tall as Ben in high school. And, though she'd been going through a sexual identity crisis at the time, she'd been well on the road to falling in love with him. After the "A" disaster, she had fallen for him, and hard.

'And then he left, and took a big chunk of me with him.', she thought bitterly. Well, to Hell with Toby Cavanaugh, she decided. He'd had his chance and he'd blown it. He could have gotten in contact with her at any time over the fifteen years they'd been apart, and he hadn't, not once. So, she'd deal with his presence for business purposes and out of respect for Jenna, but other than that, her life was going to remain a Toby free zone.

Emily's phone rang in the cup holder on the dashboard, the Smiths singing to her, and for a split second she felt like she was back in high school being terrorized by "A". She checked the caller ID and saw the name 'Mom and Dad'. That wasn't much more comforting. She loved her parents but chances were, by the end of dinner she'd be wishing for a text from "A" just to relieve the monotony.

"Hi Mom.", Emily answered.

"_Hi honey. Are you on your way over?_", Pam asked, and Emily heard her father shout a greeting to her from the background.

"Yes, I was giving Jenna a ride home after work. I'll be there in a minute.", Emily assured her.

"_Good. We've got some news for you._"

"Does it involve Toby Cavanaugh being back in town?", Emily sighed. Her parents had been less than thrilled with her leaving. Their first thought had been that Toby and Emily had run away together. Emily, who'd been in Tuscon at the time, could only laugh at them when they'd asked her if that was indeed the case. If they only knew. Emily had left to find him, of course, but whether it was to be with him or to murder him for breaking her heart, she hadn't known.

"_Who told you?_", Pam asked, disappointed. She was always trying to get the jump on Emily when it came to town gossip but had yet to succeed.

"Jenna. He designed fliers for the studio." And might be buying Ali's old house, she added silently. "When I was giving Jenna a drive to her house, I had a chat with him too."

"_Are you okay, Emmy?_", Pam asked. Once the truth had come out about Toby's real reason for leaving Rosewood after Homecoming, her parents had become used to his presence in Emily's life and had even liked him. He and her dad had gone to a few basketball game up in New York, but you'd never know it from her dad's death threats to him once he up and left Emily without a word.

"I'm fine, mom.", Emily told her firmly, and she would be. Seeing Toby had been a shock, but it wasn't the first she'd had in her life and wouldn't be the last either. It was just something else to contend with, one more thing that she would get over. "I'm meeting him tomorrow to discuss a price for him designing the fliers, but that's it."

"_Okay, if you're sure._", Pam answered. Emily could hear it in her mom's voice that she didn't believe it. That was understandable since she herself didn't believe it yet. "_Hey! Emily Victoria Fields, are you talking on your cell phone while driving, young lady?_"

Emily laughed then rolled her eyes. Good old mom. "No, mom. I pulled over when I heard my phone ringing. I'm parked behind Jenna's street right now."

"_Good. Well, I'll let you go so you can get driving again. We'll see you when you get here, Emmy. Bye._", Pam said to her.

"See you in a bit, mom. Bye. Say bye to daddy for me.", Emily replied then hung up her phone. She looked in the rear view mirror as the sound of a motorcycle revving caught her attention, then sighed. She was nearing dangerous 'Toby territory', as Hanna had dubbed it. She needed to get out of there ASAP before she did or said something she'd regret.

Sighing, Emily put the phone back in the dash board cup holder while she turned up her car stereo to drown out the sound of the motorcycle. She checked her mirrors, flipped on her signal and pulled back out to the street and drove to the main road.

She calmed down minute by minute and by the time she reached her parents' house, Emily was feeling much more relaxed. She saw her dad standing on the front porch, chatting to Maya as the two looked at the garden around the front of the house. Emily beeped her horn at the two, then waved before pulling into the driveway behind her dad's car.

"Emmy!", her dad greeted with a smile as Maya waved back while Emily turned off her car and got out.

"Hi Daddy, hey Maya.", Emily greeted, rushing up the stairs and hugging her dad. She'd been gone for his last two tours and had missed him terribly while she was away.

"How was your day at the studio?", her dad asked.

"Good, it's really picking up.", Emily answered, sitting on the porch step with Maya.

"Sorry I couldn't make it to the yoga class, Em. I was helping your dad with the back garden.", Maya explained. Maya had begun taking yoga and kickboxing classes like they were her new religion, explaining that she needed to be physically fit to be a lawn and garden professional. She'd gone to school for horticulture and after graduating had opened a lawn and garden shop in Rosewood. Her shop had become a hit since designer lawns were all the rage in the tiny slice of suburbia, which kept her pretty busy.

However, living in the same neighborhood as Emily's parents during high school, she'd seen first hand that Emily's dad, who took pride in his lawn, needed the help sometimes. After opening her shop, she'd offered her opinions and before long, Maya was a regular feature at the Fields household, often coming over early in the morning on weekends and being out in the garden with Emily's parents for most of the day. The irony escaped neither Emily nor Maya's notice, but both were mildly amused by it.

"It's okay, Maya. Thanks for helping him.", Emily assured her. "You didn't miss anything too exciting. What were you guys doing anyway?"

"Come into the backyard and see, your mother is still out there admiring it.", her dad told her, leading the two women into the backyard. Where before there had been an empty, well kept lawn there was now a new sapling tree in the middle of the backyard. Emily gasped when she saw the ribbons tied around the trunk, each bearing the name of a member of the Fields family.

"Daddy, it's so pretty.", Emily complimented, walking to the tree. "It'll look beautiful when it's fully grown."

"I thought so. I meant to get one and plant it in years ago, but just never got around to it.", her dad explained as Pam walked out the back door.

"Hi Emmy.", she greeted, kissing her daughter's cheek as she put an arm around her husband. "So, what do you think? Your dad and Maya wanted it to be a surprise for you."

"I love it. You guys didn't need to do this though.", Emily laughed.

"Well we're proud of you, honey. You picked yourself up off the ground and began a business you love, that makes you happy.", her dad answered. "And we've got you back in our lives again, so we saw it as a reason to do something special."

"Thank you so much.", Emily replied, hugging both her parents then Maya. "So that's why you insisted I be home for dinner tonight."

"Since when do we need a reason to want our only child to come home for a visit?", Pam asked with a laugh. "If the gardeners out here are done showing off, I've got dinner ready on the table. Maya, will you be joining us?"

"I'd love to, Mrs. Fields, but Ben and I are going out for dinner tonight. Anniversary.", Maya answered. "Can I take a rain check?"

"Of course, you're always welcome.", Mr. Fields replied. He'd found out from Spencer about Ben's rape attempt when he'd spotted her punching him, and the resulting shouting match in the street. He'd never heard Spencer Hastings shout or swear before, but the entire town heard her then. He'd gone over and broken the fight up and when Ben tried to claim that Spencer had attacked him for no reason, she just scoffed and said,

"Well you're not completely stupid. First you try to rape Emily, then you lie to her dad about it. Oops, did I say that out loud?" Ben had gone pale as a sheet as Mr. Fields turned to him with a glare that only an enraged father could give. Alex and Veronica had intervened at the time, taking Mr. Fields and Spencer to the nearest restaurant so they could both settle down and so Spencer could explain exactly what she'd meant to Mr. Fields.

"Some time this week maybe. Ben's going to Chicago for business so I should have some time on my hands.", Maya suggested.

"Just let us know.", Mr. Fields agreed. "Will we be seeing you tomorrow?"

"For sure, I'll be over here bright and early. I should be going anyway. I'll see you all later.", Maya answered, then left the backyard.

"Well, come on you two. Dinner's getting cold.", Pam suggested, and the Fields family entered the house Emily had called home for her teenage years. "So Emmy, you never said, what happened with Toby?"

"Toby?", her dad asked. Emily sent her mother a glare as they all sat at the dinner table. Clearly her mother hadn't told her dad about Toby returning.

"Uh, yeah, he's back in Rosewood, Daddy. He submitted a flier design to the studio. Here, take a look.", Emily suggested, leaning over and pulling the flier design from her purse. She handed it to her dad, and both adults looked over it.

"It's very good, very well done.", Pam critiqued. "He's got a good likeness of you on here, right down to your eye color. And a scale drawing of the studio. He always did have talent."

"This is the flier you're going to use?", her dad asked.

"Yes, it's the best I've seen so far. Toby was the best artist I knew.", Emily affirmed.

"It's a good choice.", he agreed. "Will you two be spending a lot of time together for this?"

"Daddy, don't worry. This is just business, nothing more.", Emily promised him while Pam began handing dishes of food around the table.

"Hm. Shame, I always liked him.", her father shrugged. Emily, who'd been taking a drink of water, nearly choked.

"Wha- what? Daddy, you couldn't stand to hear his name after he left town.", Emily said in confusion.

"Emmy, you're my little girl and him leaving like he did hurt you. Didn't even have to good grace to call. So yes, I was angry with him and I didn't want him being talked around here because it would hurt you.", her dad explained. "But, if you've moved on, good for you, honey."

Emily refrained from answering, just gave her parents a smile and let them steer the conversation in the direction of some army friends of her father's coming into town with their families to catch up with her parents. All through dinner, she wondered just what she had gotten herself into. Toby Cavanaugh had meant trouble in high school, and now they were in an entirely new arena with new rules that Emily wasn't entirely sure of.

'Oh what have I done?', she asked herself.

**AN: Only a good thing, Emily. =)  
Hope you enjoyed it, guys. Feel free to review, and have an amazing day!**

**Much love,  
Oracle. (L) (L)**


	4. Thursday Pt 4

**AN: Hey guys! This chapter has liberal doses of our boy Toby! =D He is so fun to write, I had a blast with this chapter. Aria, Mike and Ellie are also in this one, and there is a confrontation where Aria shows her teeth. I made up the name of Toby's mom, so forgive me if it's wrong. I hope you enjoy it!**

**Disclaimer: I clearly own nothing. **

Toby had never been much in the way of auto repair. Show him a bike and he could tell you everything about it that was on the registry and even some things that weren't, right down to exact shade of paint, but when it came to car failure he was, in Jenna's words, hopeless. Fortunately, Jenna's and his dad's were the only cars he was going to be around for the next little while, so for the moment, his attention was solely focused on his baby, his 1980 Harley Roadster.

Wrecking his bike after Homecoming had been one of the hardest things he'd ever had to do, second to leaving Emily alone at the hospital and third to taking the blame for what happened to Jenna, but it was the lesser of the two evils. The first thing he'd done after making his way to his friend's house in Phoenix after graduation was buy a bike to replace his old one, managing to get a hold of what he considered the God of Harleys, and it had served him well in the years up to his return to Rosewood. While he'd been in New York, he hadn't been able to ride his bike that often because, while he was willing to put his faith in Emily, he couldn't say the same for New York traffic.

He'd been in New York for a little over seven years when he'd received a call from his father, which had been weird for myriad reasons. Mostly because he and his father hadn't spoken since he left Rosewood. The purpose of the call was a grim one; Toby's step mom had gotten sick the year before, and it had advanced until it had crippled her. His father was asking him to come back to Rosewood to help he and Jenna take care of the house. If it had been anyone else, he'd have said no. He'd said his farewells to Rosewood, but this was Allishia, his step mom. She'd been his mother for most of his teen years, and despite what happened with Jenna, she still loved him.

It had taken a week for him to make up his mind, but in the end he'd wound up calling Jenna and telling her he was coming back. She'd been thrilled and proceeded to update him on all the things that had gone on in Rosewood during his absence, including Emily's disappearing act and recent reappearance. It was then she mentioned that she was working as Emily's receptionist, which was just so many kinds of bad that Toby didn't know where to start.

He knew she loved her job, and really liked working with Emily as was only natural. Emily was a warm, caring person with a heart of gold. But Jenna... She was a different kettle of fish all together. To put it bluntly, Jenna was a matchmaker. She liked seeing people happy and in love, which was fine, even cute by some standards. When they were teenagers he hadn't really noticed how far she was willing to take her matchmaking tendencies. She'd been a pain in the neck when she'd been in love with him, but she was also his best friend, his step sister and some weird form of ex. He genuinely loved her as a person, so he'd put up with it. Since he ended their relationship and they'd gone through the slow, excruciating process of becoming friends again, he'd begun to miss the Jenna who'd been in love with him. At least she hadn't been trying to set him up with Emily every time he turned around.

Oh yeah, he knew what she was up to. He wasn't stupid, and he hadn't been gone that long. He still knew Jenna, and she was concocting some plan in that head of her's to get he and Emily back together. He normally wouldn't have been concerned, but this was Jenna. She knew him like the back of her hand, and even more frightening, she knew how to mess with his head. Alison had taught her well.

Toby wandered through the automotive section of Rosewood's only Home Hardware, looking for motor oil. He'd noticed his bike was sounding a little off, and figured he could give Jenna's car a tune up while he was at it. Let it never be said, whatever other faults he might have had, that he was anything but a good step brother. Locating the aisle, he walked quickly down to where the rows of different motor oil were stacked, glancing over the familiar labels.

He'd never understood why there had to be so damn many brands of, well, everything these days. They could put a man on the moon, but they couldn't come up with one universally awesome type of motor oil? It just didn't make sense.

Toby flipped open his phone, checking for any messages. Emily's smiling face looked back at him and he sighed, stuffing the phone back into his pocket. The picture had been taken the night of Homecoming and through thick and thin, Toby had fought to keep that picture all the years he'd been away from Rosewood. Lord knew he could use a new phone, but he didn't want to lose that picture. He looked so... disgustingly happy, really, with his arm around her shoulders and the two of them smiling at his camera phone. That picture was the only one he had of the two of them together, and had been his phone background for the entire fifteen years he'd been away.

Jenna, suffice it to say, had been absolutely giddy when she'd found out.

"Toby? Toby Cavanaugh?", a voice asked from behind him. Toby turned and found Aria Montgomery, her brother who's name escaped him at that moment, and a young girl in paint splattered jeans and a zip up hoody. To see one of the former teen queens of Rosewood in the automotive aisle of Home Hardware was a head trip, but Toby nodded in greeting anyway.

"Aria. It's been a while. How've you been?", Toby asked, trying to be polite. Aria had never been cruel to him, quite the opposite. Until the "A" thing happened, they seemed to have a silent agreement to ignore each other which had suited both just fine. Their only common threads had been, unsurprisingly, Emily, Jenna and Alison, in order of importance in Toby's world.

"Fine, thanks. How about you? How long have you been back in town?", Aria asked.

"Pretty good. I was in Phoenix for a while, then New York for a couple years. I've only been back a few days. I'm living with Jenna and my parents right now, until I can get around to moving into my new house.", Toby answered.

"Really? Where's your new house?", Aria wondered.

And here would come the awkwardness. He'd been hoping to keep that detail a secret for a while longer, but it wouldn't do to have Emily's best friends being suspicious of him all over again. Toby grinned, then shuffled his feet a little. It was a nervous tick he'd picked up from Emily. "The old DiLaurentis house. I'm checking it out tomorrow. Thinking of turning the upper half into a home studio, renovating the whole place. It's the nearest I could find to my parents' place, and they've needed my help since my step mom first got sick." And, he was sure the older, only remaining DiLaurentis sibling would rob him for every penny he assumed Toby had, not knowing that what he'd pay for the house was six months' rent for his New York apartment..

Aria looked stunned, but quickly put a smile in place. "Oh that's great. I mean, you and Em will be neighbors again." That had been one of the factors ruling against buying the house, but it was close to his parents' place in case they needed him. Necessity trumped personal wants every time. "I'm sorry to hear about your step mom. How's she doing?"

"Better. She's been seeing the doctor regularly, and taking better care of herself. She misses working at the gallery though.", Toby answered. Aria's mother, Ella, had been the first to notice something about Allishia was off, and when she'd fainted at the gallery, Ella took her to the hospital.

"Give her our best, okay?", Aria requested, then put her hands on the young girl's shoulders. "I completely forgot my manners. Toby, I'd like you to meet my daughter, Ellison. You already know my brother Mike." For a split second, Toby thought she'd named her daughter Alison, which would have been more creepy than endearing.

"Hi.", Ellison greeted. Toby looked at the young girl and saw a lot of Aria in her, from her dark brown hair to her face shape, as well as her nose from what he could tell. There was something about her eyes though that wasn't Aria. They held the same warmth, but the color and shape were off. He'd had always had an eye for facial details, and Ellison's eyes reminded him of one of the high school players he'd particularly disliked, Noal Khan. For her sake, if Noal was her father, he hoped she had been gifted with her mother's common sense or she could be in for some trouble in her later years.

"Nice to meet you, Ellison. I'm Toby.", Toby answered, shaking hands with both Mike and Ellison.

"Call me Ellie, and I know who you are. Aunt Em and Jenna talk about you sometimes.", Ellie answered. She instantly liked his eyes, but remembered how upset her aunt Emily would always get whenever this guy was brought up. She didn't see why; he seemed nice enough, and she knew her mom wouldn't have talked to him if he was going to hurt her. Jenna was always really happy when she talked about him, always bringing in clips from on line New York magazines, usually about a 901 Studio and the work that was featured, including some work by her grandma. His picture usually wound up getting cut out though, before Aunt Em could see it.

"Really? Well, Ellie, your grandma has told me a little about you. And, I happen to know that you're quite the artist.", Toby commented. Ellie blushed; she painted and liked to draw, but she was hardly an artist.

"What'd you mean?", she asked.

"When your grandma was in New York and helping me set up my gallery there, she showed me some sketches you did. They showed a lot of talent, I was impressed.", Toby explained.

"Grandma showed you those?", Ellie asked in horror. Those were just sketches she'd done when she'd broken her ankle and had to stay in bed, they weren't anything that great.

"What sketches, El?", Aria asked. Ellie fidgeted where she stood, and Toby smirked. The sketches had been mostly of Aria, Hanna, Emily and Spencer, and a few of Jenna, Alex, Lucas, Ella, her grandpa Byron and uncle Mike. They'd been pretty basic, just pencil sketches, but it had shown a real eye for detail and a definite skill with portraits.

"Just some sketches I did last summer, I left them at grandma's place.", Ellie explained. "You thought they were good?"

"I still do. I asked your grandma if she'd mind asking you if you'd be okay with me hanging a few up in the gallery I was going to set up here in Rosewood, but she hasn't gotten back to me.", Toby answered.

"Really?", Aria and Ellie asked in synch. Aria smiled at her daughter, who's blush had spread to the edges of her face. "Ellie, that's fantastic news! What'd you think?"

"They're not that great, just some pencil sketches... You really want to hang them in your gallery?", Ellie asked.

"If you wouldn't mind. I wanted to include some of Rosewood's local talent, since a lot of my investors will be coming by in the next few months to see how the gallery is doing. It'd be a good boost to any portfolio you were thinking of starting."

"Does it have to be those ones? Can I maybe include some of my newer stuff?"

"Well... I could include some of the ones your grandma showed me alongside anything new you wanted to show. As a sort of 'Then and Now' display. What'd you think?", Toby considered.

"Awesome! Can I, mom?", Ellie asked, turning to Aria and giving her a look that Toby recognized as the 'Puppy eyes' look. Aria avoided eye contact, then grinned at her.

"Of course you can, El! Tell you what, you, me and uncle Mike can go home, get a bunch of your new stuff and take it to grandma's. We can all look through it and decide together which pieces to show Toby. How's that sound?", Aria offered.

"Yes!", Ellie agreed hurriedly. "This is so cool! Does it have to be pencil, because I've been doing a lot of painting recently and some of those are pretty good?"

Toby chuckled. He loved enthusiastic young artists, they were definitely one of his favorite parts of his job. They reminded him a lot of non messed up versions of his teenage self. "No, just bring by whatever pieces you decide are best and I'll check them out and see where I can set them up."

"Mom, what about the canvas painting I did of the cottage by the lake? Can we bring that?", Ellie asked eagerly.

"Whoa, hold on there, missy. We are not stuffing my car full of canvas, we'd never get it all to grandma's in one piece.", Aria denied quickly.

"What about if you guys take digital pictures of the pieces you had in mind and let me see them? When I get the gallery set up, I can have someone come by and pick them up.", Toby suggested. "You can bring the smaller pieces to the gallery, and I'll make the frames for them."

"I can take care of that, Toby, as long as you don't mind wood frames.", Mike offered. "Wood working is kind of a hobby for me."

"No, wood frames would be fine, thanks. Me too, it was something I got into while I was in Phoenix. My friend worked in a lumber yard and did wood working, so I got into it as a way to kill an afternoon.", Toby explained. It went unmentioned that the friend was an ex juvenile delinquent from reform school, and also that he'd carved a small wooden likeness of Emily, which was currently sitting in his closet, wrapped up in paper and hidden along with his other wood works.

"Okay, well, we'll take a look at the pieces Ellie's got in mind and if you give them the OK, we'll frame them and bring them to the gallery.", Aria answered. "This is so great, Toby, thanks."

"No problem, Ellie has a real talent.", Toby acknowledged.

"So, you're living with Jenna for the moment?", Aria asked as Ellie talked to Mike about the gallery and what she wanted done with the frames.

"That's right.", Toby affirmed. Aria looked like she was chewing her lip, and Toby took that to be a bad sign. He knew she knew about the he and Jenna thing; everyone in Rosewood did, including Emily, much to his chagrin.

"Look Toby, I'm just going to say it.", Aria sighed. "I'm not very happy with you."

Toby's eye brow went up. As far as he knew, he hadn't done anything to piss Aria off, but he'd learned long before that that meant nothing. "I see. And why, may I ask?"

"Because of what you did to Emily, when you left. You really hurt her, Toby. She wandered around for about a year before she just packed up and skipped town one night.", Aria explained, her arms folded over her chest as she spoke. "We didn't know what had happened until we got a letter addressed to the three of us from her. She wouldn't tell us where she was going, just that she needed to get out of Rosewood before it killed her. After that letter, we didn't hear anything from her for four years. The next time she contacted any of us, it was a call to Hanna from outside of Tuscon, Arizona."

Toby's stomach dropped down to his shoes. Emily had been in Arizona? How had he never heard about it? He had friends all over the state, and they all knew about Emily and just why he left. She'd been less than a hundred miles away from him, and he'd never known. "What was she doing there?"

"She'd heard from a girl she met in El Paso that someone with the last name Cavanaugh had been living somewhere in Arizona after leaving Rosewood, and she'd asked everyone she could think of but couldn't find you. After that, as far as we know, she went to Baltimore, then Wichita, and then back to Pennsylvania for a few months. She blew through Rosewood one weekend, just to check in with her parents, and then went to Los Angeles. She enrolled in UCLA, got her degree, worked in LA for a couple years and then went to Spokane. Eventually, she made her way back here and has stayed put ever since.", Aria told him.

"Why was she looking for me?", Toby wondered. Aria scoffed, then looked at him.

"You really have to ask? Toby, she loved you and you ditched her. She probably wanted answers.", Aria answered.

"I left for her, to give her a chance to be happy.", Toby defended. He'd been cleared of Alison's murder; all he wanted was to be with Emily, for her to trust him again. He knew she had unresolved feelings for Maya and he was just complicating things so he figured he'd give her space. He'd leave for a bit, give them both room to breathe. Only a month in New York hadn't been far away or long enough. He'd wound up with a couple of state lines between them and he still thought about her every day.

"How could she be happy when she wasn't with you? What part of 'she loved you' do I need to explain?", Aria sighed in irritation. Men. Honestly. "Why would you think leaving her would be good for her?"

"The Maya thing. I thought she needed more time.", Toby answered, his voice quiet. He felt like he was staring down the road to Hell, being slapped with all of his good intentions.

Aria groaned. "Did you even bother to _ask _how she felt about that, or did you just leave?"

"You know the answer to that, Aria.", Toby told her. "Okay, so what do I do now?"

"That depends. Do you plan on pulling another vanishing act?", Aria asked.

"No, I'm here to stay. Everything and everyone I love is here." He knew that for a fact, one that he couldn't escape, be it in Arizona or deep space. So, before his move to Rosewood, he sold his apartment in New York, which five years before he'd sworn to himself and every deity he could name that he would never give up. But when it comes down to it, you always come back to your beginning, and his was in Rosewood with Emily and his family, no matter how desperately he'd fought against it.

"Then, and wow is this ironic, give her time. She hasn't even touched the subject of you since she came back, and the wound hasn't healed yet. If you want anything to do with her outside of business, you've got to prove you're here for keeps.", Aria told him firmly. "And know that if you hurt her again in any way, I will rip you apart piece by piece and I'll do it with a smile on my face."

"Mom! Come on, uncle Mike called grandma, she's expecting us!", Ellie broke in, grabbing her mom's arm and completely unaware of conversation between the two adults. "We need to get going and start looking through my work! Oh this is so cool!" Ellie jumped at Toby in a hug, which in itself was impressive because he had a good foot and a half on her. "Thank you, Toby!"

Toby laughed, hugging her back. He couldn't help it, the kid was cute. "No problem, Ellie, I'm happy to help. Just make sure they're the works you absolutely want shown, okay? Once they're up, I won't be able to take them down again until the display is changed." That was a total lie but he found that people, especially young artists, worked better under pressure. If they cracked, they should consider a change in career, and something about the maturity and excitement in Ellie's eyes made him think that she was an artist in the making.

"I will, promise.", Ellie insisted. "Come on, mom! Come on, come on, come on!"

"Ellie, don't be rude. Well, I guess we'll be going. Toby, we'll be seeing you soon. Nice running into you, and be sure to think on what I told you.", Aria commented, and her tone was light enough to almost fool Toby into believing that she wasn't capable of turning him inside out and using him for a coaster. And God help him, he wasn't sure if he was speaking metaphorically or not because he'd learned years before to never underestimate a woman, and Aria was a perfect example.

"You bet. Ellie, you know where to find me when you've made up your mind on what works you want to use.". Toby agreed. "It was nice seeing you all again."

The Montgomery siblings and Ellie walked away, with Ellie chatting excitedly to her mom and uncle as they made their way out of the store and Toby shook his head with a chuckle. That had been interesting. He guessed that the minute Aria got home, she would call Emily and tell her she'd be having a new neighbor soon enough, and he looked forward to it.

'Welcome back to Rosewood, Cavanaugh.', he thought to himself with a grin as he picked a random bottle of motor oil from the shelf and checked if it was what he needed. Putting it back and getting the correct one, Toby walked up to the cashier. Rosewood hadn't changed, and that was fine by him. The town didn't need to change when the people had.

**AN: 'Til next time, guys. Have a great morning/afternoon/night! And now, to sleep. **

**Much love,  
Oracle. (L) (L)**


	5. Thursday Pt 5

Hanna stood before her mirror, trying to decide on her dinner outfit. She held up another dress in front of her, frowned and threw it back on she and Lucas' bed. As soon as she'd walked into the apartment, darted into the room, kissed him in greeting and made a bee line for the closet, Lucas had evacuated to the kitchen. He'd learned early on that when Hanna got serious about dressing to impress, the safest place to be was anywhere else.

"Ugh.", Hanna grunted, tossing yet another rejected dress onto the bed. It never failed. Whenever Isabel and Kate came into the picture, she turned into a nervous wreck, always trying to look better than them to make the point that she was still the number one girl in her dad's life, and neither Isabel nor her bitch of a daughter was going to change that. Her dad had figured it out years ago and just kissed her forehead and laughed, telling her that she was being ridiculous and that she was never going to be replaced. It'd made it a little easier in the early years, seeing Isabel kiss her dad or Kate asking him for help with homework instead of she and her mom, but didn't change anything. As far as Hanna Marin was concerned, Isabel was a home wrecker and Kate was an unfortunate side effect.

Stepping into a pair of heels and doing a slight twirl in front of her mirror, Hanna frowned again. It didn't help that she would probably have to play referee between Lucas and Sean for the evening. Their mutual enmity hadn't ebbed at all over the years and since their return to Rosewood, Sean had made the point that Hanna had ditched the quarter back for the geek every time he could somehow manage to slip it into conversation. Which, she noted, he did often and at his leisure. She dug deeper through her closet and pulled out a dark cobalt blue dress. Examining it, she recognized it as the dress she'd bought for the awards dinner she'd gone to with her mom and Byron the year before and she hoped she still fit in it.

'With all the yoga I do, I better fit into this or I'm complaining to the manager.', she joked to herself as she checked to make sure there were no rips or tears in it. The neck delved into a modest V-shape, the sleeves were long and billowed around her wrists ending in a gold trim, while the hem of the dress billowed around her knees and a silver belt hung around the waist of the dress.

She heard a chuckle behind her as she slid the dress over her shoulders, then glanced in the mirror and found Lucas standing in the doorway, looking at her with a warm smile on his face. She reflexively smiled back. Lucas could always make everything better, and she hadn't yet found out how he did it. Hanna pulled her hair out of her collar, then smiled.

"Hey.", she greeted, tying a belt around her waist to complete the outfit. "What'd you think?"

Lucas walked into the room and took Hanna's hand, then twirled her around in the spot, taking in every angle. He put both hands on her waist and smiled at her in the mirror's reflection. "I think you've somehow managed to turn a dress I'd previously associated with the Lord of the Rings into something unbelievably sexy. Liv Tyler's got nothing on you."

"Why thank you. You don't look so bad yourself.", Hanna laughed, putting her hands on his shoulders and doing a quick glance over his outfit. Lucas always took extreme care with his attire whenever her dad and the step monsters were involved, knowing that Hanna would be nervous enough. He wore a basic white button down shirt with the sleeves rolled up and black slacks. Hanna had given up long ago with getting him to wear the sleeves rolled down; his argument had been that he was a computer consultant and needed his hands free. Since he looked professional either way and it was important to him, she'd given up trying to convince him otherwise.

"I'm sure Isabel or Sean will find something wrong with it.", Lucas answered. Even a decade late, he still hated Hanna's ex. When he found out about him trying to get with Aria behind Hanna's back in high school, he'd been livid. He and Hanna had still been just friends at the time and he'd gone to her house after finding out and fought tooth and nail to get her to see that he was no good for her. It was a week before graduation and Hanna was caught up in the preparations, but she'd stuck up for Sean, telling Lucas that he either got over his problem with Sean or they would have to end their friendship. He'd reached his breaking point by then and told Hanna that, if that was the case, they weren't friends anymore. To that day, he could remember the sound of her crying as he walked out of her mom's house and the look of hurt she wore.

Two weeks later, Hanna approached him in the mall while he'd been out with his sister looking for a birthday present for their mother. She apologized for what she'd said, explaining that yes, she knew about Sean going after Aria but she loved him and they were going through a lot of stress at the time, with her going to Northwestern and him staying in Rosewood. She said she really missed him and asked if they could be friends again. Everything in Lucas was screaming an emphatic _No, Hanna, don't you see? He's he's a lying, cheating asshole!_, but it somehow got lost between his mind and his mouth only to come out as a _Yeah, of course, Han. I missed you too. Want a pretzel?_. Years later when they talked about it, Hanna had laughed and said that if he had told her that, she'd probably have agreed since the day before, Sean had told her that she'd flunk out of Northwestern by December.

"Well they're in no place to talk.", Hanna scoffed. Isabel spent her father's money shamelessly, dressing in tacky numbers that not even a Paris college runway would feature, and Sean's idea of dressing up had been different renditions of the suit Hanna had picked for him in high school. "Besides, who cares what they think? I think you look amazing."

"Well thank you, beautiful.", Lucas answered. He looked at the two of them in the mirror and Hanna smiled, leaning her head against his shoulder. "God, we make a picture, don't we? We almost sicken me."

"We do, and it's one I could look at for a long time.", Hanna told him. "Which I would love to do, but the step monsters and my dad are expecting us. Thank you for putting up with them and Sean tonight, Lucas. It means a lot to me."

"Anything for you, Han.", Lucas answered with a sigh as he set his chin on her shoulder. "Just wish he could be all Holy Roller Robocop somewhere else."

"So do I, but he's one flaw in tonight. We can still have fun with my dad.", Hanna agreed, leaning her head against his.

"Han, I'm pretty sure that every other guy in town wouldn't classify having dinner with the dad of their significant other as a good time.", Lucas laughed. Though Tom Marin had scared the bejesus out of him when they'd first met on one of his trips to Northwestern to visit her, the two had reached an understanding when Lucas made it clear that he loved Hanna and wasn't after her for sex. That, he admitted, was a nice perk but not the main reason. Tom had apparently appreciated his honesty because his car hadn't exploded and people hadn't begun following him yet. Key word: Yet. Yes, he was convinced Hanna's dad was a mob boss, regardless of Hanna telling him otherwise.

"But you're not like every other guy in town.", Hanna answered, kissing his nose. "What time did we say we'd be at my dad's by?"

"7, so we should probably get going. Don't want another lecture from Step Mommy Dearest.", Lucas replied. Isabel was some kind of time Nazi. He and Hanna had been late for dinner once a year before and she'd all but crucified them on the dinner table. Since then, they'd made sure to always be on time just to avoid another lecture.

"What do you think the chances are of us being able to just skip it?", Hanna asked, twining their fingers together over her stomach.

"Honey, your dad is leaving town next week on business. You know this is the last time you'll be able to see him for a couple months.", Lucas told her.

"I know.", Hanna sighed. "Lucas, do you think I'll ever actually like Isabel and Kate, or are they always going to be this ominous... thing between me and my dad?"

"Han... I know you're probably going to hate me for saying this, but-"

"I could never hate you!", Hanna protested.

"- I think you've always hoped your mom and dad would get back together. Then Isabel and Kate come along and you're thinking that he's trying to replace you and your mom. True or false?"

"True, I guess. I just wanted my family back together so everything could go back to normal.", Hanna sighed.

"I know, and in your case, I would want the same thing. But you need to accept that your dad has a new wife whom he loves and a step daughter that he loves.", Lucas told her, kissing the side of her face as he spoke. "They haven't replaced you, but you all need to find a place for each other in your lives or yeah, I'm pretty sure they're going to stay between you and your dad."

"What would I do without you?", Hanna asked with a smile.

"Probably lure Kate and Isabel out for a day at the mall and commit the first case of shopping mall homicide Rosewood has ever seen.", Lucas answered with a laugh. He let go of Hanna's waist and turned to the bed, then grabbed her coat from under the pile of discarded dresses. He looked from the clothes to the open closet and then to Hanna. She checked her hair in the mirror, then saw the confusion on his face.

"What is it?", she asked.

"I'm trying to figure out how exactly you managed to cram all those clothes into that one closet.", he answered while handing her her coat.

"It's a secret. If I told you, I'd have to kill you.", Hanna told him, slipping the coat on while Lucas grabbed his leather jacket from his side of the closet.

"Fine then, keep your secrets. But I'm onto you, Sorceress.", Lucas told her with a fake gravelly voice as he put his coat on. He grabbed Hanna around the waist, then dipped her. The two looked up at the closet in silence for a moment. "But seriously. I'm pretty sure there are dead guys all over the world spinning in their graves, screaming about you somehow breaking several laws of physics."

"Let it go, Point Dexter.", Hanna sighed with a roll of her eyes. She grinned as him as he let her stand, then kissed him. "Hey! I just remembered, this weekend is-"

"Our anniversary.", Lucas finished. "I know, I've been planning it for a while now." Hanna's eyes practically sparkled and Lucas instantly knew that he'd be questioned about the upcoming event the whole ride to Isabel's lair, as Hanna called it.

"Oh have you now? Can I have a hint?", she asked as the two walked out of the bedroom. Lucas rolled his eyes skyward and put an arm around Hanna while checking he had his keys and wallet with the other hand.

"No, Han, you can't. It's a surprise.", Lucas told her, glad Hanna's dad's new place was near the edge of town so they wouldn't have to drive far.

"I will make you tell me, Lucas!", Hanna warned while twisting his shirt hem in her fingers as the two left the apartment.

"You can try.", he replied, locking the door behind them. The two made their way down to the car park, and for the half hour drive to Hanna's dad's place, she questioned Lucas as to the surprise, receiving no answer but a cryptic wink and a smile. When they reached the house, with all the lights lining the driveway to the two story house just beginning to glow as they approached, Hanna reached over and squeezed Lucas' hand.

"Last chance to back out.", she offered. Dealing with Isabel and Kate was part and parcel to dating their step daughter/sister, but having to sit through an evening with Sean was going above and beyond the call of 'boyfriend' duty.

"I'm not going anywhere but in that house of horrors, Han. I'm not letting you face them by yourself.", Lucas answered, pulling into the driveway next to a patrol car. A nasty little part of himself wanted to rear end it, just because he could, but he figured that it wouldn't be a good prelude to the night.

"You're the best.", she told him as the two got out of the car and approached the front door. While the first time they'd done this Lucas had been scared as hell of facing Tom and the step monsters, just then, twisting his hand over Hanna's smaller one, he was completely calm and figured that Sean could do his worst. He'd come a long way since the halls of Rosewood.

"And don't you forget it. Now, prepare to enter the dark side.", Lucas replied, kissing the side of her head as his free hand made use of the door knocker to announce their presence. A few moments later, the door was pulled open and Lucas had to fight to keep his face neutral as Sean Akard appeared in front of them.

"Hanna, you're here!", Sean greeted, opening the screen door. He smiled at Hanna, and then frowned at Lucas. "And you brought Lucas."

Hanna rolled her eyes and lead Lucas inside by the hand, nudging Sean out of the way as they entered. "Don't start, Sean." She kicked off her heels, wishing dearly that she had a clear shot at Sean's head as he closed the door because she _so _would have taken it, then handed Lucas her coat with a small smile. "Dad, it's Hanna! Lucas and I are here!"

"Hanna, honey!", her dad's voice called back, the man himself appearing in the doorway to the dining room. Beyond, Hanna caught a glimpse of Isabel's not so pleased face as she and Lucas came into view before her dad pulled her into a tight hug. Hanna buried her head into her dad's shoulder and hugged him as tightly as she could. It never failed to astound her just how much she missed having her dad as a constant presence in her life, so she resolved that, Sean, Isabel and Kate be damned, she and Lucas were going to have a good night with her dad.

"Hi, Dad.", Hanna answered, letting him go and allowing room for Lucas and Tom to exchange pleasantries and shake hands. She rolled her eyes as her dad slapped Lucas on the back, telling him in jest that he was glad to see Lucas was taking care of his little girl. She figured it was a guy thing.

"God, you two make quite the picture.", Tom commented, seeing Lucas' arm rest casually around Hanna's waist while her hand found a home in his belt loop. He cast a wary eye on Sean, who observed the stance of the couple with a pinched expression. Inviting him had not been his idea but Kate's, and he was sure that the arguments in store tonight had only just begun. He could feel Isabel's eyes practically carving into him as he stood there.

"Why thank you. It's hard not to look good when you've got this gorgeous woman standing next to you.", Lucas replied smiling. He'd always liked Tom, even if he had scared the hell out of him (But realistically, what sane man isn't afraid of the father of their girlfriend? It's just basic survival instinct.).

"Belle of the ball, my Hanna. However, I'm fully expecting there to be wedding bells in my girl's future, Lucas, just remember that.", Tom warned, giving Lucas a smirk as a blush scorched across both Hanna's and Lucas' faces. Very interesting indeed. So he had read between the lines of Lucas' email correctly.

"Duly noted, sir.", Lucas responded. Steps came from the staircase and Kate appeared, decked out in a dark green dress that fell to her knees and strapped sandals.

"Oh, Hanna, Lucas, you're here. I didn't think I'd been up there that long. It's great to see you both again.", Kate greeted, walking over and hugging the two. Kate wasn't really a bad person, Hanna considered, now that she'd grown from being the girl who was calling her father Dad because her mom and Hanna's dad were married into a fellow fashion icon. She was an editor at a magazine in Trenton, New Jersey, and was in town for a vacation. Their visit just happened to coincide with her's.

"Hi, Kate. Nice to see you too, you look great. How's Trenton?", Hanna inquired as she and Kate walked into the dining room, flanked by Sean while Lucas and Tom talked in the foyer.

"Thank you, you too, and Trenton is fine. Traffic is a nightmare, but what else can you expect? How've you been? I hear good things about your clinic.", Kate replied.

"Only good things I hope, or I'll start having nightmares about potential lawsuits.", Hanna laughed. "I've been fine, living together with Lucas. What about you? Anyone note worthy in your life?"

"Not really. Just broke up with a boyfriend. A stock broker. He was just too boring for my taste, I guess. So, now I'm just coming back to catch up with Mom and Tom.", Kate explained. The two women vanished into the dining room, where Isabel was heard greeting them. Tom turned to Lucas, who stood in silence next to him.

"I assume there's a question you want to ask me, Lucas?", Tom prompted, his hands tucked into his pant pockets.

"You assume correctly. Tom, you know I love Hanna.", Lucas answered.

"I've been made aware." Tom sent a smirk to Lucas. "And you know that that little girl means everything and more to me. I want her to have the very best of everything."

"I know. And, while I don't pretend to know what's best for Hanna, I know that she's what's best for me. So, I'd like your permission to ask her to marry me." Lucas suddenly felt like he was on route to the firing squad when Tom's face remained blank until a bright smile hit his face.

"Permission granted. I'll make sure my suit is dry cleaned in time for the wedding.", Tom agreed. Behind the two, Sean sucked in a ragged breath and the two turned to him.

"No. Absolutely not. You are not marrying Hanna.", Sean mandated. Lucas turned on him with a scowl, and walked up to where Sean stood. He stood toe to toe with him.

"Sean, I'm with Hanna. You're not. You fucked up. You let her go. I'm asking her to marry me. Deal with it and stay the hell out of my way.", Lucas bit out harshly, then turned and walked into the dining room where Kate, Hanna and Isabel were sitting. Tom smirked at the furious expression on Sean's face as he passed, leaving the ex Homecoming King in the entryway.

Turns out, he'd been right about Lucas being best for Hanna. And, thank God, Hanna had come to that realization in her own time. Sean was a nice guy, but just not quirky enough for Hanna's personality, and he was two notches up from a wicker chair in terms of intelligence. Under the make up and designer dresses, Hanna had a quirky, brilliantly silly personality that she only really let show while around Lucas.

Watching Lucas have a conversation with Isabel with a calm, polite expression only confirmed Tom's belief that his little girl would be safe with Lucas. Tom put a kiss on the top of Hanna's head as he walked past to sit on Isabel's other side, making up his mind to enjoy the evening with his family. And Sean, but God willing, Kate would finally say something and distract him from glaring holes in the back of Lucas' head.


	6. Friday Pt 1  Spencer, guess who's back

**AN: Hey guys! I'm so so sorry this took so long, but I had some massive projects to do and they kind of swallowed all my free time. =( But, here is the beginning of the 'Friday' installment of 'Hopeless'! As promised, it features a short appearance by Wren! =) I don't know why, but I had a horrendously hard time writing as Alex, Spencer and Wren. I just couldn't get into their characters all that well. Hopefully it improves as the story goes on, but for this chapter, I just wanted to introduce Wren back into Spencer's world. **

**Now, to be clear, I am a S/A shipper, but Wren (Julian Morris) is cool character played by an amazing actor. This is just Wren making his presence known, and you can probably pick up a little of where I'm going with the Spencer/Alex plot from this one, but hopefully not too much. Btw let me know what you think of the names, those were the ones I really liked but I'd love some feedback on them. **

**Oh, and one last note: The Spencer-Mellisa conflict. From what I've seen of the show so far, I really don't think a truce between them has a hope in hell of lasting longer than a month, maybe two tops. So, in this story, there will be a lot of animosity between them, but I'm aiming for a cease fire around the time the baby is born. (So you might be waiting a while for it. xD) I hope I didn't go overboard; I wanted Spencer to seem absolutely terrified of what happened with Wren messing up her future with Alex. Also, I tried to showcase how hostile she is towards Mellisa over her interfering with she and Alex, again. (Homecoming Hangover, anyone? What a bitch.)**

**I think that's it... I'm really not too impressed with my character development in this chapter, but hoping I can get back into the groove on the next one. No idea when the next one will be though, because October is an evil bitch and I'm drowning in assignments and midterms. Only upside? My birthday is on October 25th. To celebrate, I'm going to aim for another posting on my birthday, but don't quote me on it. =P **

**Disclaimer: Most of the above mentioned was me bitching about school work and my lack of free time. Clearly, I own absolutely nothing of substance, so obviously I don't own PLL. I just use it to amuse myself and you lovely readers. =)**

Spencer stretched slightly as she walked out of the kitchen into the living room of her apartment with Alex, feeling fluttering in her stomach. Her eyes fell on the baby crib she and Alex had been up all night putting together and she felt a smile about to split her face. That crib cemented the idea in her mind; she was pregnant. She and Alex, the one man she knew without a doubt that she needed in her life, were going to have a baby. They were going to be parents and start a family. The idea made her giddy, and she let out a squeak when arms she knew with all her heart wrapped snugly around her stomach.

She turned her head and found Alex smiling at her, his head perched on her shoulder. The two looked at the crib together and Spencer, who made it a personal point to keep from crying, felt tears spring to her eyes. Alex didn't even need to look at her to see the tears, but kissed the side of her face and tightened his arms around her stomach.

"Good morning, beautiful.", Alex greeted softly, his voice low so it didn't disturb the moment.

"Morning. How'd you sleep?", Spencer asked, twisting her fingers through his as they lay over her stomach.

"Good, but I should be asking you that question, since you got up like six times last night to check the crib.", Alex answered in jest and Spencer blushed. "Honey, we've still got over four months until the baby is born. I think the crib can make it through the night safe and sound."

"Oh shush.", Spencer replied with a smile. She grinned at him. "Alex, we're having a baby."

Alex smiled at her, a full blown, thousand watt smile. "Yeah, Spence. Yeah, we are."

"I just never thought I'd be here, you know? An amazing boyfriend, my own business, and a baby on the way. I never thought I'd get here.", Spencer told him. The "A" disaster sprung to mind, and she remember praying to Alison that she'd live long enough to graduate, never mind have a baby.

"Well you are now. And you know what else?", Alex asked, walking around in front of Spencer and leading her by the hand into the living room. He spun her in a slight circle, then pulled her back against his chest and they looked at the crib. He touched his forehead to her's, then continued to say, "We're here together, and come hell or high water, that's how it's going to stay. I don't want to miss a moment of this."

"You sure?", Spencer asked, lopping her fingers through the belt loops on Alex's jeans. "From what my mom says, there are some parts coming up that I'm not sure I even want to be here for."

Alex chuckled, then kissed her forehead. "Spencer, not even you throwing furniture at me could make me leave you like this."

Spencer's eyebrow went up in confusion. "Huh?"

"Your dad was telling me horror stories last night while you and your mom were looking through the baby stuff. Your mom was a pretty violent lady when she was in labor with Mellisa."

"It's Mellisa, are you really surprised?", Spencer scoffed. Her eyes then lit up. "Wait, my mom was throwing stuff when Mellisa was born? Oh man, I would pay good money to see that."

"I'm pretty sure your dad mentioned there being a tape somewhere.", Alex considered. Spencer smiled wickedly, then her face twisted into a cringe and Alex laughed. "Just remembered what else you'd need to see?"

"In technicolor. Playing those videos in health class should have constituted cruel and unusual punishment.", Spencer replied with a mock shiver. "That's a side of my mom I think I'll live happily without seeing."

"You and me both.", Alex agreed. "So, speaking of labor, have you thought of any names?"

"I've been brainstorming a couple.", Spencer admitted with a smile. "For a boy, I thought of Rafael or Anthony, and for a girl, mom and I were talking about maybe Savannah or Grace." Alex smiled at her in gratitude; Grace was his mother's name. She'd died in a car accident six years before and it had torn Alex apart, since he and his mother had always been almost inseparable.

"Cute. How about Grace Veronica Santiago-Hastings? It has a nice ring to it.", Alex proposed. When the subject of names came around, the two of them had agreed that the child's last name would be Santiago-Hastings, showing that the two families were equal and that, for the final time, Alex was not just a fling for Spencer. It was a foreign concept in Rosewood, with the exception of Hanna and Lucas and the unspoken train wreck that was Toby and Emily, but Alex and Spencer were soul mates. She couldn't imagine waking up in another person's arms, and whenever she tried, she felt sick. Alex and home meant the same thing to her, and she'd fight whatever battle she had to to make sure that she, and their child, had Alex in their lives.

"I like it... But what about Alison?", Spencer asked softly. Alison had been a psychopath; everyone in Rosewood knew that. She'd manipulated the townspeople in ways that still had people reeling almost twenty years later. But psychopath or not, she'd still been their friend, their best friend since grade school. It just felt wrong to exclude her.

"Savannah Alison Santiago- Hastings?", Alex wondered. Spencer frowned; she blamed it on the hormones, but somehow hearing Alison's name in the same breath as the name of her possible daughter made something in her snarl in protest. Friendship be damned. If her own sister wasn't going to have a say in what she named her baby, Alison sure as hell wasn't going to.

"No, let's stick with Grace Veronica?", Spencer asked, smiling at Alex uneasily. Alex, as always, seemed to sense the discomfort and smiled back, easing his arms back around Spencer's waist.

"Grace Veronica it is.", Alex agreed. "If it's a girl, anyway."

"Wait, what about you? This should be a decision for both of us.", Spencer asked.

"Spence, I'll be happy as long as he or she is born healthy and I have you to go through this with. And I couldn't have picked a better name than Grace. Good call.", Alex promised her. "I swear, no matter what we call them, they'll still be our child, they'll still have your friends as their aunts, our parents as their grandparents, and they'll still be the most amazing child I'll ever see in my life."

Oh that did it. Tears began to spill from Spencer's eyes and she leaned onto Alex's shoulder and cried. She was so unbelievably happy; why was she crying? 'Stupid hormones.', she cursed, hugging Alex as he rubbed her back.

A knock came at the door, and Alex gently released her. "Spence, you stay here and I'll go see who that is, alright?" A kiss landed on her forehead and she laughed breathlessly, wiping tears from her eyes as Alex walked to the door.

She turned around to look at the crib, half an ear listening to Alex open the door. "Hello?"

"Is this Spencer Hastings' apartment?" Spencer stopped in her tracks. She felt frozen. That voice shouldn't have been at her door, shouldn't have been anywhere near her.

"It's our apartment. I'm Alex Santiago. Are you a friend of Spencer's?"

"You could say that. Forgive my rudeness, I'd forgotten Spencer was living with someone. My name is Wren Kim." Spencer was rapidly considering sending a prayer to Alison for a bus to come steaming through her living room wall and just end it all now. No way was this happening. There was just no way whatever higher power there was could possibly be that cruel.

"I'm not familiar with the name, but give me a second. Spence, honey? There's someone at the door for you." Oh good dear God, this could NOT be happening!

Spencer's feet moved of their own accord and pulled her to the door, even though every other part of her was screaming in defiance. Going to the door was a bad plan! So bad she couldn't even think of a word for it! But a moment later, a dreadfully familiar face swam into view and Spencer was sure she knew what being dragged into Hell was like when Wren Kim smiled at her. Some part of her registered that her body's only response to it was overwhelming dread as she stood between Alex and Wren, but a weak smile pasted itself onto her face.

Wren Kim, her sister's ex-fiance and the first love of Spencer's life, was at her door, and it was all she could do to keep her composure and not collapse in a dead faint. Or find a bunch of sharp knives and use Wren and Mellisa for target practice.

"Spencer. Good God, you look beautiful. How've you been?", Wren asked.

Alex's lips twitched in what Spencer recognized as displeasure, and she wanted to scream. Why, Wren? Why? You couldn't just keep that mouth of yours shut and stay away, could you? "Fine, surprisingly. What are you doing here, Wren?"

"Mellisa called me." That figures. Spencer considered taking a leaf out of Alison's book and torching Mellisa's garage the next chance she got. If Mellisa had a garage to speak of anyway, living in an apartment and all. But Spencer would find a way. "She told me you were pregnant, and I felt that I had to show my support. Spencer, this is wonderful news, congratulations to you both."

"Thank you. We're pretty excited about it.", Spencer replied, turning to Alex and giving him a look that she hoped conveyed just how surprised she was at Wren showing up and simultaneously trying to make him see that no matter what the smooth Brit said or did, her heart belonged to Alex. Alex smiled back and slid and arm around Spencer's waist. If the veins in his arms were slightly sticking out or if he was holding her just slightly tighter than usual, she said nothing about it. "How long are you in town for?"

"Just until Sunday night. I was hoping I could take you two out for dinner tonight to celebrate.", Wren answered. Spencer would honestly rather stick a fork in her eye than sit down and play nice with Wren for hours on end.

"That's very nice of you, Wren, but Alex has to work late tonight, don't you, Alex?", Spencer asked. Not a word of a lie; Alex did in fact have a late night meeting with some clients he had to take care of. After all that happened, if she used it as an excuse to stay out of Wren's company, who could blame her?

"I do, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't go, Spence. It would be a good chance for you two to catch up." Spencer had to physically fight to keep herself from staring at Alex in abject horror. Someone up there definitely had a sick sense of humor.

"It's a fine idea, Alex, but I'm sorry you won't be there." Bullshit. The Brit looked like he'd just been told Christmas was coming early. "I haven't seen Spencer in years. There's so much to talk about. I could come by and pick you up if you like?"

'Shut the hell up, Wren.', Spencer fumed quietly, a strained smile on her face. She put a hand on her stomach, mentally telling the baby that she was sorry for any profanity s/he might hear. If she was going through with this dinner with Wren, she was going to tear him a new one and make sure he stayed away from she and Alex. And after that, she was going to find Mellisa and strangle her for setting all this up. "No, thanks, Wren. I have my car, I'll be fine."

"Alright. Shall we say The Grill, 7 o'clock?" Damn. She'd been hoping for a more private venue; the fewer witnesses when she ripped his face off, the better.

"I'll be there.", Spencer promised. She was wishing he would leave already. She needed to call the girls and set up a plan for the night. Specifically, them getting her out of there ASAP.

"Wonderful." Was that smile supposed to be helping or hindering his cause? Spencer couldn't be sure, but returned a very pained smile. Wren's eyes flickered with something that resembled disappointment, and his smile faltered slightly. Spencer wanted to snicker. Mission accomplished. "Well, I should leave you two to your business. Alex, it was a pleasure meeting you, and congratulations again. You're a very lucky man."

"Believe me, I know it. Nice meeting you.", Alex agreed, an arm wrapped around Spencer's waist as he shook hands with the Brit.

"Spencer, see you soon.", Wren said to her, holding her hand in both of his. Spencer felt like if she had to give one more fake smile, her face was going to splinter.

"For sure. See you." Wren nodded, then gave them both another smile and walked away, vanishing quickly down the hall. Spencer closed the door with a firm 'click', then turned to find Alex watching her with an amused smirk on his face. "What?"

"You looked like you were going to rip that guy's throat out.", Alex answered with a laugh. Close. She'd been considering it. "Something you're not telling me, Spence?"

Spencer felt herself go pale, then shook her head. "Not that I can think of, why?"

"You never mentioned Wren before." Because she wasn't stupid.

'There's a very good reason for that, but if I told you, you'd never trust me again.', Spencer thought to herself, then smiled and put both arms around Alex. "Never really saw a reason to."

"Mellisa didn't seem to think so." Spencer stepped back, looking like he'd just slapped her.

"What?", was all she could ask. For her sake, Spencer hoped Mellisa hadn't done what she thought she had, otherwise there would be blood, and a lot of it.

"When we told your parents about the baby, Mellisa cornered me in the kitchen." Oh Spencer did NOT like where this was going. "She told me about you and Wren, Spencer."

"Alex, don't believe a word she said. Wren, that was a mistake.", Spencer explained in a panic. No way was she losing Alex, it just couldn't happen. She and Wren had been a brief thing, something she'd outgrown and got over, thanks to Alex. "Alex, let me explain."

"Spencer, Spence. Calm down, honey.", Alex said hurriedly, taking her in a hug. Spencer wrapped her arms around Alex and all but clung to him. "Honey, relax. It's okay."

"What did Mellisa tell you?", Spencer asked.

"She told me that she and Wren were engaged, and that he cheated on her with you. Said I should know, in case Wren ever made good on his word and came back to Rosewood." Oh, Mellisa was a dead woman walking.

"Alex, just ignore everything she says, you know my sister is poison.", Spencer told him with a scowl. "Wren... That was a mistake, I admit that. Definitely not one of my brighter moves."

"Spence, it's okay, I'm not blaming you or anything. It was a long time ago. Now please, honey, just start breathing regularly, okay?", Alex pleaded with a laugh.

"I'm sorry I never told you, I just... I didn't want you to think you couldn't trust me.", Spencer confessed.

"Spencer, if I didn't know I could trust you, I wouldn't have made as much of an effort to keep us alive while we were apart. Spence, I trust you and I love you, and our baby. Nothing in your past is going to change that.", Alex promised her, kissing her forehead.

Spencer hugged him tightly, not saying anything and looked at the crib over Alex's shoulder. The white paint was practically glistening in the early morning sunlight, and she smiled. Mellisa was still going to get an ear full, but on second thought, maybe she would wait until after the baby was born. Mellisa had quite the kick to her, and if Spencer was going to get into the Wren fight, part 2, she wasn't going to hold back.

But, for that moment, she figured it would be okay to just relax with Alex. Mellisa wasn't nearly important enough for her to give up time with him.

**AN: And that's it! No idea when the next one will be up, guys, but when I have free time, I will get it written and posted! I promise! =)Thoughts? Comments? Questions? Concerns? Philosophical arguments you wish to share? Feel free. Feedback= love. Flames= S'mores, and I think we all know my stand on S'mores. =P **


	7. Friday Pt 2

**AN: Hey guys! I'm so sorry this has taken so horribly long. I've recently gotten a job and that along with school work has been kicking my ass. I'm dead tired, so there'll be no witty banter from me in this AN. This is just a scene before my favourite people, Emily and Toby. So, for all the ET fans, enjoy. And feel free to hate Mona. She makes a brief appearance. **

**Other than that, enjoy! :) Disclaimer: I own nothing. **

The clock rolled slowly towards 5 and people filtered into the main gym of Emily's studio. At the front of the room stood Maya and Emily, the two women chatting about various television shows they were fans of. At least, that's what Emily was trying to do. A single bruise was on Maya's leg, about an inch and a half around, and it was all Emily could do to smile and carry on the conversation as she silently worried.

Maya continued to relay what Emily was sure would have been a hilarious story from whatever show she'd watched last night had she been paying attention, but all Emily could focus on was the same anxiety she herself knew only too well. She'd asked Maya what had happened when they'd met up earlier that morning, and Maya had shrugged and said she didn't know, that she must have hit her leg on the table or something.

Emily still knew a lie when she heard one, and that was the biggest she'd been faced with in a while.

"Would your parents be okay with me coming over for dinner tonight, Emily?", Maya asked, tying her hair back with a red elastic.

"For sure, you know the invite is always open, Maya. Just give my mom a call ahead of time to let her know.", Emily assured her, then noticed that the people all around them had gone quiet. Emily glanced around and saw Jenna and Toby standing at the back entrance to the gym, Jenna chatting to various members while Toby kept his eyes on her.

"Well there's a face I haven't seen in ages. I didn't know Toby was back.", Maya claimed in surprise, waving to the step siblings in greeting. "Last I heard of him, he was opening a gallery in New York."

"Yeah, he got back a few days ago, apparently.", Emily answered as the two made their way to where Emily and Maya stood. It didn't escape her notice that everyone in the room was watching she and Toby, and she wanted to roll her eyes. Chances were, her mother would be hearing about this sooner rather than later.

"Toby's looking pretty good.", Maya commented neutrally, carefully hiding a smirk as she saw the displeased expression that flitted across Emily's face. The athlete wanted to laugh; if Emily thought she was fooling anybody with her 'I'm over him' facade, she was dreaming.

Emily had to repeatedly tell herself that she was NOT seething, and that the impulse to cancel the class and and make everyone leave was both irrational and unprofessional. So Maya had noticed that Toby had taken care of himself over the years. Her and every other woman in the room.

…. That was supposed to make her feel better, and had just made her feel even worse. Emily shrugged, not seeing how Maya rolled her eyes and withheld a barely contained scoff. "I guess. I hadn't really noticed." Maya shook her head and laughed out loud. "What's so funny?"

"You're a terrible liar, Emily.", Maya chuckled as Jenna and Toby joined them at the front of the room.

"Hey, Em, Maya.", Jenna greeted, interrupting Emily's confused glance at Maya. "I bring you one Toby, as per request."

"We see that.", Maya laughed. "Toby, nice to see you again. Welcome back."

"Thanks, Maya, nice to see you too. How've you been?", Toby asked. He gave the two a glance over, purely out of habit to make sure that Emily was okay, and his eyes quickly spotted the bruise on Maya's leg. He glanced at Emily and read the expression on her face, which had always been an open book to him. It didn't disappoint; every inch of her face conveyed either fear or anxiety directed towards Maya.

"Good, thanks. You might have heard, I'm dating Ben now.", Maya answered, getting the awkward part of out of the way. No one in Rosewood had been very happy to learn that the two were dating, and she didn't expect anything better from Toby. "And, I've opened a shop downtown."

Toby understood just why Emily looked anxious, and where the fear came from. Even after being gone for so long, the name of Ben Coogan still put a sour taste in his mouth.

"Congratulations on the shop. It's St. Germain's Garden on 5th, right?", Toby checked, receiving a nod. "Then I guess we'll be seeing more of each other. I'll be doing some gardening around my new place, and you've come highly recommended."

"Sounds like fun.", Maya responded. "We're open Monday to Friday, 9 to 7, and Saturdays 11-5. So, I guess you're going to be staying for the class?" She was dying to see Emily's reaction to Toby Cavanaugh doing kick boxing.

"That was the original plan, but I'm going to have to pass.", Toby explained, and Emily's face sank faster than the Titanic. "I've got to go see Lucas Gottesman about a new security system, and the only time he was free was today. He said something about going out of town for the weekend."

"Oh right, it's his and Hanna's anniversary weekend.", Emily remembered. "Lucas always plans something big for their anniversaries."

"He said as much when we spoke on the phone, so I said I'd drop by today.", Toby agreed. "I'm sorry, Emily. I'm going to have to cancel, I don't know how long this will take."

"It's fine, Toby. Just drop by anytime this week, I should be here.", Emily assured him. "So, have you spoken to Jason anymore about the house?" According to Mellisa, Jason had been about as happy in a cat full of rattle snakes about selling the house to Toby, so Emily was fully expecting him to put up a fight.

"A short phone conversation, though I'm reasonably sure he wanted to tell me to go to hell." Jason was still as unbearable as he'd been in high school, and being promoted to head of the local law firm, with Mellisa being passed over for the promotion, had added an extra chip to his shoulder.

"Any news on when you'll be moving in?", Maya asked.

"As soon as it gets a new security system, so maybe as early as next Wednesday.", Toby guessed. "I guess we're going to be neighbors again, Emily."

"Sounds like." Emily really had no other answer to that; she was just beginning to realize how far up a the creek she was, and that her paddle had gone MIA.

"Hey, Emily! We doing this class or not?", Mona Vanderwal asked, walking over with her hands on her hips. "We get it, freaks squared. You're back. Don't see what it has to do with my kickboing class."

"Mona. Haven't changed, have you?", Toby scoffed, rolling his eyes.

"Why mess with perfection?", Mona asked. "I'm here to kick ass and stay thin, not listen to your soap opera life. Now, why don't you make yourself useful for a change and go lay in traffic?"

"Mona, that's enough.", Maya snarled, keeping a hand on Emily's wrist when the instructor's hands balled into fists.

"Why? It's true. Everyone knows about you and your step sister, and that you killed Alison."

"Okay, that does it.", Emily growled. "Mona, get the hell out of my studio." Emily reached over and grabbed the membership tag from Mona's tank top then handed it to Jenna, who was glaring daggers at Mona through her wire rim glasses. "Consider yourself banned from Fields' Fitness Studio, and all of it's programs. Your membership is canceled permanently."

"You can't do that!", Mona told her in outrage. Emily stepped toe to toe with her and looked her straight in the eye.

"Just watch me. Now get out." Mona backed away from Emily, then frowned.

"What about my money? If I'm not a member, I was the $70 back."

"All sales are final.", Jenna put in, smiling vindictively at Mona while Toby remained silent.

"You've got to be-" Mona looked ready to unleash a rant of epic proportion, and the headache that had suddenly sprung up behind Emily's eyes was begging her to get the loud, shrill and screaming woman out of the echo chamber that was the studio.

"No, Jenna. If it'll get her out of my sight any faster, I'll make an exception this once.", Emily conceded. "Mona, get your things and follow Jenna to the front desk. Take your refund and get out."

"There's no way this is legal.", Mona huffed, grabbing her duffel bag from the floor. Emily smiled grimly.

"Oh but it is. You violated the terms of your membership, which explicitly state that verbal and physical harassment will not be tolerated, and the harasser's membership is subject to immediate cancellation, no refund necessary.", Emily explained, hitting the handicap button to make the door to the gym swing open before them. "I'm doing you a favor. Get out before I change my mind. Jenna?"

"Follow me.", Jenna requested, leading Mona out of the gym. Emily turned to Toby as the two vanished from sight and smiled softly at him, and got a mind blowingly bright smile in return.

"Sorry about her. She had no right to act like that.", Emily apologized.

"Don't worry about it, Emily. Coming from Mona, I should have expected it."

"She's still stuck in high school. Don't let her get to you."

"She couldn't hurt me then, like hell she can hurt me now.", Toby chuckled. "I'm just sorry I caused such a scene, I should have just called."

"Don't say that. You have every right to be here; you're a guest, and a friend. She was way out of line.", Emily protested, taking his hand before she had time to think otherwise. "Aren't you the one who told me not to care about what other people think? Don't let Mona's attitude problem ruin you coming home."

"I may have said something along those lines.", Toby admitted, grinning at Emily. Neither chose to comment on the fact that their fingers had twisted together somewhere between point A and point B. "Listen, if I get this security thing taken care of in time, would you want to go for dinner later? We could catch up, and I know this great little cafe."

Truthfully speaking, there wasn't anything in the world that Emily wanted more , but images of the girls flashed into her mind, along with Spencer's panicked phone call earlier that morning. She frowned, squeezing Toby's fingers subconsciously. "I can't. I'd love to, but I'm having dinner with the girls tonight while Alex and Lucas watch Ellie.", Emily answered. "Tomorrow?"

"I've gotta go back to New York for a few days to finish the move.", Toby answered with a frown.

"Well, when you get back, we'll go out for dinner. The whole nine yards.", Emily promised.

"I'll hold you to it.", Toby smirked. He felt the stares of everyone in the room on he and Emily, and noticed two things. 1) Emily was still holding his hand, and God help him but he felt like he was 17 again. And 2) There was a class of thirty in the room, all of whom were pretending not to smile knowingly at the reunion. Seems he wasn't the only one who had missed he and Emily being together over the years.

Emily clued in to their audience at almost the same time as Toby did, and dropped Toby's hand just as Toby let her's go, the two taking a step away from each other. Emily felt like her face was on fire, and Toby stuck his hands into his pockets. "I should probably go, don't want another Mona incident."

Despite her raging embarrassment, Emily wanted him to do anything but. "Okay, see you later. Good luck with the move.", Emily answered, and would until her dying day deny her voice catching. Maya was openly smirking at them, and Emily pointedly ignored her, knowing that she would never hear the end of this.

"Thanks. See you later, Maya. I'll probably drop by the shop sometime next week when I'm moved in.", Toby said to her.

"Okay, when you come in, just ask for me.", Maya affirmed.

"Will do. I'll see myself out. Bye, Emily.", Toby told them, then walked to the door. He stopped and turned around, half out the door. "Oh, hey Emily?"

"Yes?"

Toby smiled at her and said, "I don't know if I said this to you before, but this is a good place you've got here. You've done really great work with it."

He was out the door and gone before Emily could really respond, and she stood watching the door for a moment with a stupid grin on her face. At that moment, Alison could have walked in through that door and she would have had to fight to get that grin off her face.

Maya smiled at her friend, happy that she'd finally caught a clue, if only for a moment. Emily was as stubborn as a mule, so Toby would have a fight on his hands if he wanted them to get back together. "He hasn't changed much, has he?", Maya asked, watching with Emily as the door clicked shut.

"No, not really." Thank God. Emily laughed, turning back to the front of the class. She looked at the members, and found them all smiling knowingly at her. She internally groaned. This was going to be a long class.

**Thoughts? Comments? Questions? Concerns? Feel free to review, and have a great Thursday. :)**


	8. Friday Pt 3

***Peeks out from the cave she's been in for the past while* Hi. =) **

**I'm back! I know, it's been forever, but the next chapter is up! I'm so, so sorry it took so long, but life has been absolutely insane these past few months. But, with a new season, FINALLY!, I had to get the next chapter out as quickly as possible. AND, I'd like it mentioned for future reference, that I made it clear that Ian would be coming back in this story from the get-go, so when his part comes up, I'm not trying to take bits and pieces from the show. But, I'm a little undecided whether or not Mellisa goes with Ian at this point. It could go either way, but enough of that for now. **

**This chapter deals with everyone's favourite boy, Toby! He's so much fun to write. And I adore Lucas. (No, I don't care that he totalled Ali's memorial. Bitch deserved it. And Noal... Oh, Noal. I'm going to have so much fun putting you through hell in this story. I wasn't fond of you before for getting between Aria and Ezra, but now I really dislike you.) Oh, and I'd like to address a typo in the last chapter that is absolutely disgusting me. I can't believe I didn't notice this until now. **

_"It's fine, Toby. Just drop by anytime this week, I should be here.", Emily assured him. "So, have you spoken to Jason anymore about the house?" According to Mellisa, Jason had been about as happy in a cat full of rattle snakes about selling the house to Toby, so Emily was fully expecting him to put up a fight._

**I apologize, guys. That should have been, '**Jason had been about as happy AS a cat IN A ROOM full of rattle snakes about selling the house to Toby'**. I read the chapter and I cringed. I'm so sorry about that, and I will try to fine tune my editing in future. **

**I think that's about it... So, without further ado, please enjoy this chapter. It is shameless filler until the real action picks up on Saturday, but in the name of proper character/ plot development, it must be done. **

Toby steered his car into the driveway of the old DeLaurentis house, careful not to hit the Corolla that was parked by the entrance to the garage. He shut the engine off and sat in the driver's seat for a moment. Alison's house stared back at him, the windows blank and unlit. Paint had worn from the railings and the steps looked like they could use a nail or two, but he would still know this house with his eyes closed. This was one of the few houses in Rosewood that Toby would pay good money to keep locked up tight. He really didn't know how Maya managed to live in it as long as she had; To Toby, it felt like Alison had left a permanent taint on the house and town.

He saw Lucas walk out of the garage, and opened his car door. He gave the tech specialist a friendly wave and shut the door, clicking the security button on the key chain remote before going to join him.

"Toby, how's it going?", Lucas asked, offering a hand to shake Toby's. Lucas had never really been on Toby's radar in high school; they were both outcasts of society, but for different reasons. From what he remembered of him, Lucas seemed like a good guy, quiet and kind of odd, but nice. And it seemed that Hanna's newly gained confidence was contagious. In high school, Lucas would have believed the rumors that Toby was a psychopath and avoided eye contact with him. Not for the first time in his life, Toby thanked whatever God would hear him that high school was over.

"Not bad, yourself?", Toby asked as the two walked up the steps to the house. "How's Hanna?"

"We're both great, thanks.", Lucas answered with a grin. "Really excited about the trip this weekend. Speaking of, I apologize for the limited time span I had available, Toby. Things just piled up one on top of another and before I knew it, my weekend was pretty much swallowed. Thanks for being so understanding about it."

"No worries. It's going to be a big weekend for you, I hear.", Toby agreed as Lucas pulled out a key chain and opened the door.

"Han and I's anniversary. I still can't believe there is a Hanna and I.", Lucas exclaimed, and Toby could read the genuine shock on his face. The former misfit smiled; he knew from experience that when the one person you thought was out of your league showed that they returned the feelings you held for them, it was like the stars had aligned.

"Congratulations. From what I hear, you two are good for each other. Better than that other guy she was dating.", Toby commented. Sean Ackard was one of the principle reasons that Toby hated high school, next to Ben and his little clique of jocks. Lucas muttered something about Sean that was highly unprofessional, but Toby just pretended he hadn't heard a thing and took a brief walk around the entryway of the house. The arched ceilings were very Alison, as were the arching doorways and pale gold that adorned the walls. Toby was seeing a lot of remodeling in his future.

"Thank you. Now, I've done a preliminary sweep of the house and from what I can tell, it shouldn't take too much work to wire a security system to your specifications. Which were more elaborate than the run of the mill, I don't mind saying.", Lucas told him. Toby knew a not so subtle inquiry when he heard one and shoved a smirk off his face.

"Can't be too careful. Once word gets out that I'm back in Rosewood permanently, I'm sure that there will be some protest.", Toby answered. "Until I can get a line on a studio space in town, I'll be storing a lot of potential art at the house so I want it as tightly locked as I can get it."

"Alex Santiago might be able to help you with that.", Lucas suggested.

"I was thinking of him, and maybe stopping by Ella Montgomery's studio to see what she thinks. I figure, get the news from the people in the know, right?", Toby said with a shrug. "So, how much is this going to cost me, roughly?"

"The house is over 900 square feet, not counting the additional backyard storage space which I assume you'll be using?", Lucas guessed, receiving a nod. "I'd have to run it by my accountant, but I'd say I can probably get the house and backyard done for less than 400."

"The entire thing?", Toby asked, shocked. The appraisals he'd seen for the property had estimated 6 to 700, and that was at the low end of the scale.

"Yep. Consider it a favor for a friend of a friend.", Lucas responded with a grin. "Welcome back, by the way."

"Thanks. Lucas, I owe you. Anything I can do to help you, or Hanna, let me know.", Toby promised him. Lucas laughed.

"Thanks, I'll keep it in mind. Now, where did you want-", Lucas began to ask when his cell phone let out a chorus of Deathcab for Cutie from the depths of his jacket pockets. Toby chuckled as he began searching. "Damn! Hold on one second, Toby. Where is it..." A silver phone appeared in Lucas' hand and he flipped it open. "Hello?"

Toby strolled away from the technician, glancing around the ground floor. It was a good place, he mused. The living room was a good size, he could easily see some of his artwork and inspiration pieces hanging from the walls. From what he remembered of the kitchen, there was a built in counter that he could see himself pulling a few all nighters at, drinking coffee until his eyes burned and his hands began to shake to get the detailing on a piece just right.

"Hanna, honey, I'm kind of busy right now, are you okay?... Yes, he's... Hanna. Absolutely not, that's totally... Hanna, forget it." Lucas' voice drifted in and out of Toby's ears as the artist paced around the living room. "Of course I care about Emily, you know that."

Toby's ears perked up, and he twisted where he stood. Was Emily okay? Lucas caught the nervous gaze Toby was giving him, and knew that the once upon a time misfit of Rosewood would be out the door, in his car and across town in a heartbeat if he had a suspicion that Emily was in danger. Lucas held up his hands in a subtle gesture of calm down, then mouthed, 'Emily is fine.' Toby visibly relaxed, then went back to checking out the fireplace in the living room.

"No, Han... Then you tell him. Okay. Honey, go to work, we'll talk about this later... Yes, I'll be home for dinner, I promise... Of course, my Friday night is yours to do with as you will. As long as there are pizza and video games...", Lucas promised, then let out a laugh. "Hey, I get plenty of exercise. Yoga... And on that note, I need to let you go, honey. Yeah, say hi to the girls for me... Love you too, Han. Bye."

"Everything alright?", Toby asked as Lucas slipped his phone back into his pocket. Lucas nodded with a grin, and Toby didn't need to be psychic to know that something was troubling the technician.

"Yep, Hanna wanted to make sure I'd be able to watch Ellie with Alex tonight while the girls go out. Something about Spencer's ex coming back into town, so on and so forth.", Lucas answered with a shrug.

"Those four are still inseparable, huh?", Toby asked with a laugh.

"Some things never change. I swear sometimes those four act like they're on the same wavelength. Now, what was I saying before the phone call?", Lucas asked.

"Something about the location of something?", Toby guessed.

"Oh right! Where did you want the main keypad to be located?", Lucas asked, leading Toby though into the kitchen. "I would advise by a main entrance so you had easy access to it."

"Hm. Can I get it installed in the kitchen?"

"Sure, not a problem." Lucas jotted it down in the little notebook he'd pulled from another pocket. The two worked their way through the house, discussing the various potential security issues the house could have and by the time six o'clock had rolled around, Lucas had gone through at least six pages of notes.

Lucas checked his watch as the two walked towards the door, and laughed. "Wow, that didn't take as long as I thought it would. I should have time to pick up pizza before Aria drops Ellie off at the house."

"Good, I think we covered pretty much everything.", Toby answered. They'd gone over every inch of the house and he was pretty sure they hadn't missed anything.

"I'll email the specs to you by Sunday night, Monday morning at the latest, alright?", Lucas asked.

"No rush, enjoy your weekend. I'll be in New York by tomorrow morning anyway, so it's not a big thing.", Toby answered. Lucas stopped in his tracks and looked at him.

"You're going back to New York?", he asked.

"Yeah, I need to check on my place there." Lucas, if possible, turned more pale.

"Oh man... Hanna is going to kill me...", Lucas groaned. Toby's eyebrow shot up in confusion.

"I think I missed a page here.", Toby commented. Lucas looked pained, then put his things in the passenger seat of his car. He turned to face Toby.

"I... Well, Hanna... Jeez... The things I do for that woman...", Lucas sighed. "Toby, Hanna called earlier to ask me to find out what your plans were here in Rosewood... And for you and Emily." Toby's heart skipped a beat.

"There hasn't been a 'Me and Emily' for over a decade now.", Toby answered, bitter at himself.

Lucas brushed the comment away. "And Hanna knows that, but she also thinks you guys are perfect for each other. Actually, the word she used was soul mate, but that's beside the point. She wanted me to find out if you were planning on coming back here permanently, and if that was the case, if you were thinking of getting back together with Emily... And if I couldn't get a straight answer out of you, she asked me to find out at least how you felt about Emily."

"She asked you to snoop." Not unbelievable, and definitely something Hanna would do. Toby knew from experience that once Hanna had an idea in her head, she was like a dog with a bone.

"She did, and I'd like it noted for the record that I said no. But if you up and leave again, Emily is going to break down all over again, or worse leave town again, and Hanna will want my head on a spike." Lucas knew he was being over dramatic, but he also knew that when Emily or Aria or Spencer were hurting, Hanna felt it like she was the one suffering, and he would do anything in his power to make sure that didn't happen.

"Well, I will be going back to New York, but only to oversee the new management in my gallery there, and to finalize the sale of my apartment. I'll be back by Tuesday at the latest, and Emily knows that.", Toby assured him with a smirk. Those girls, he thought. They definitely knew how to twist a guy apart from the inside out.

"Oh, that's good.", Lucas replied, looking relieved. "But... And I hate to do this, but I have a request."

"What?", Toby wondered.

"Remember how you said that if Han or I ever needed anything, just ask?", Lucas asked, and Toby nodded. "Well, I think I speak for Han and myself when I say, whatever you do here in Rosewood, try your damnedest not to hurt Emily again. I know you didn't mean to the first time." Lucas quickly cut off Toby's forming protest. "I know you left for her own good, I get that. But the fact remains that her leaving after you pulled up stakes crippled Hanna, Aria and Spencer. Emily's family was devastated when she vanished. I don't want to see the people I care about get hurt again, so all I ask is that you make up your mind regarding you and Emily. You're not leaving, great. But you're still in a place to hurt her, so please, figure out where you guys are going."

"Emily and I aren't going to happen again. It's way too complicated.", Toby told him.

Lucas scoffed, crossing his arms. "Uh, hello? I'm the former game geek of Rosewood, dating the former It Girl of Rosewood who happens to be the ex of the police commissioner, who happens to hate my guts by the way. Believe me, I know complicated. And I also know that you wouldn't have almost had a heart attack when you heard me mention Emily – Don't think I didn't catch that.- And you wouldn't have invited Emily in when she dropped off Jenna, or agreed to go by the gym today before coming here unless you wanted to see Emily."

Toby felt like he should be shocked that Lucas knew about the invitation, but he found he wasn't. "There's nothing those girls don't tell each other, is there?"

"Not that I've discovered, and I've been dating Hanna since college.", Lucas answered with a huff of air. "So, like I said, just please be careful. That's the biggest favor you could ever do for me or Hanna."

"Hurting Emily is the very last thing I've ever wanted to do.", Toby told him. "Thank you, and Hanna, for caring about her, but if she gets hurt, it won't be because of anything I do."

"That's all I'm asking. Now, I've gotta go. You wouldn't believe how much pizza a twelve year old girl can go through in one night. I'll get those specs to you ASAP.", Lucas told him, climbing in the driver's seat of his car.

"Thanks. Say hi to Alex for me, and Hanna and Ellie. And have a good weekend.", Toby responded as Lucas buckled his seat belt.

"Will do. Enjoy New York, and see you when you get back into town.", Lucas bid farewell and backed out of the drive way, then drove up the street. Toby turned back to the house and tucked his hands in his pockets as he stood and watched it for a moment. He wondered if Alison's parents ever knew when she was growing up that they were raising a manipulative psycho. Probably not, he decided.

He walked back to his car and as he opened the door, out of the corner of his eye he saw a green car parked at the corner of the street. Maybe he was being paranoid, but Toby would swear that car looked sinister. The fading sunlight reflected off the windshield, and Toby saw through the glass the face of Jason DeLaurentis watching him.

Not sparing the elder sibling a second look, Toby got into his car and drove off the property, shaking off the decidedly angry vibe he felt from Jason's stare. As Alison's house vanished from view, Toby was a little glad he'd be going back to New York for the weekend. He'd miss Emily – And wasn't that a bad sign. He'd barely been back a whole month, and he already craved his next fix of her. - but he was pretty sure Jason was going to kick up a storm, and he wasn't looking forward to it.

But, he figured, he had handled Alison just fine in high school, so her older brother could do his worst. Jenna could take care of herself now, and Emily was protected by the forces of nature that were her three best friends. Jason, Toby decided, could take his issues and shove them somewhere painful. He was back in Rosewood to stay, and by the time he and Jenna were done with the old DeLaurentis house, it would be a new place. Alison's ghost was finally going to be exorcised, and then everyone, including he and Emily, could move on with life.

**Thanks for reading, and feel free to review. Happy Tuesday, everyone! **

**Much love,  
Oracle. (L) **


	9. Friday Pt 4 Character development!

**Hi, guys! I'm trying to get out as many chapters as I possibly can before my classes start kicking into high gear again and I have no free time. That, and I'm really, really, _REALLY_ excited to get a start on Monday. Why, you may ask? I'll give you a hint. His name starts with an E, and he makes teaching English look amazingly attractive. Oh yes, he's coming.**

**This is the second last chapter of the Friday instalment, and I decided to try and add a couple subplots to the mix, and decided to make a certain character not entirely evil. I think you'll enjoy it, and there's more discussion of ET, which always makes me happy. By the way, I did limited research on the subject, but as I've never had a child or salsa danced, I have no idea how safe it is in fact for a pregnant woman to salsa dance. Forgive any factual errors. **

**I think that's about it, guys. I have an awesome twist in store for Saturday, which I'm going to have fun with. It just makes everything so much more complicated. =P And on that note, please enjoy! And please bear in mind that I own absolutely nothing. **

Spencer sat in her car outside the Grill, watching the windows and sidewalk for any signs of Wren. Her phone beeped with a text message from Hanna, telling her that the girls had taken up their usual table in the restaurant and were waiting for their next move. The pregnant accountant let out a sigh; the clock was ticking closer to 7, the designated time when she was supposed to be meeting Wren, and her heart was beating a mariachi rhythm in her chest.

In her mind, she went over her talk with Alex earlier that day. With a little prodding from him, she'd told him the entire story of the disaster that was her involvement with Wren. He'd stayed silent mostly, letting her get everything out in the open, and by the end of it, they sat on the couch, Spencer's hands shaking in the pure terror she felt.

Alex stayed quiet for a moment, his arms still wrapped around her, then said point blank that, a) Wren wasn't allowed back in the apartment. Ever. Alex had seen plain as day the looks he was giving Spencer, and only the baby in her tummy had prevented him from asking her to move so he could kick the crap out of the Brit. And b) He agreed that Mellisa probably had something to do with his timely arrival, but said with a laugh that he didn't think her plan of torching Mellisa's non-existent garage would be a good idea. The fumes, he'd argued, couldn't possibly be good for her or the baby.

Spencer sat back in her seat, her hands falling to her lap. Alex had been fine with her past with Wren. He still loved her, still wanted to be with her, even after she'd been so close to sleeping with her sister's fiance. He didn't think any less of her for it. Her mom's words from so long before floated back to her, and in the dark outside the Grill, she smiled. Alex was a keeper, and she had every intention of keeping him.

'Alright, Wren. Do your worst.', Spencer mentally challenged, grabbing her purse and getting out of her car. Wren was no where in sight, which meant he was probably already in the restaurant waiting for her, most likely in a place where the girls couldn't see him. She walked down the sidewalk into the Grill, and made eye contact with Hanna from where she sat with Aria and Emily. Spencer's dark green dress floated around her knees as she walked in, then went to the hostess. Over time, the Grill had expanded to be both a cafe for casual reading and a restaurant for fine dining. As far as Spencer was concerned, it was the best of both worlds.

"Hey Melanie.", Spencer greeted the hostess by name as she stood behind the podium in front of the dinner area. The hostess, a pretty redhead, looked up and smiled at Spencer.

"Hi, Spencer. Emily, Aria and Hanna are waiting for you.", Melanie answered.

"Actually, I'm not here for just them. Is there a reservation for a Wren Kim for tonight?" Melanie looked shocked and Spencer internally cringed. Mellisa had had no bones about telling the entire town about the debacle of Wren and Spencer's fling, so she could only imagine what was going through Melanie's head.

"Oh wow... I thought it was just a coincidence when he called and left a message, thought it was just a joke, you know?", Melanie babbled, and Spencer cocked her head to the side.

"What do you mean? Wren called?", Spencer asked. This could mean nothing good.

"Yeah, about a half hour ago. He asked to leave a message for you when you came in.", Melanie answered, then handed Spencer a slip of memo paper.

'Spencer – I'm sorry, something came up, I can't make it tonight. Rain check? Love, Wren.' Spencer felt her breath turn to ash in her mouth, then crumpled the paper up and threw it in a trash bin. She turned to Melanie and gave her a smile.

"Awesome, dodged that bullet. Thanks, Mel. I'll seat myself with the girls, okay?", Spencer told her with a huge smile on her face as she walked past and into the dining area. Aria, her hair laying loose on her shoulders and wearing a dark blue knee length dress, smiled at Spencer as she walked over to the table.

"Hey, Spence. Everything okay?", Aria greeted as Spencer pulled out a chair next to Emily.

"Yep. Our unexpected visitor won't be showing up tonight, so everything is just dandy. What have I missed?", Spencer answered, sitting next to Emily.

"Not much, just catching up on the latest gossip. Guess who it's revolving around?", Hanna told her with a smirk to Emily. Emily, to her credit, didn't respond, but she did turn a faint red and throw a crumpled up napkin at Hanna from across the table.

"I need only one try. What's the rumor mill spinning about this time?", Spencer asked, the waiter, Joey, bringing them over their usual drinks. The staff at the Grill had their order down to a fine science, and when Spencer announced she was pregnant, the management had made sure that every employee was aware that no alcohol was to be served to that table.

"Oh, just a certain Ms. Emily Fields making a dinner date in the forseeable future with one Mr. Toby Cavanaugh.", Aria answered, making Emily blush a deeper red. Spencer let out a laugh, then took a sip of her ginger ale.

"Good going, Em. You don't let the grass grow under your feet, do you?", Spencer asked with a smile.

"Like I've told these two four times already, it's not a date.", Emily argued. "Just two friends going out for dinner to celebrate one of them coming home. No big deal."

Aria scoffed, then crossed her arms in front of her to lean on the table. Hanna rolled her eyes, then replied, "Please. Emily, you left town fifteen years ago to find Toby, and now you're trying to make this to be no big deal? Who do you think you're kidding here, babe?"

"Because it isn't a big deal. Toby and I are going to have a working relationship, and that's all. No more, no less. The past is the past for a reason, guys."

"Yeah, because he screwed up.", Aria scoffed. "And, I know what I saw when I was talking to him in the hardware store. He knows he messed up, and whatever feelings he had for you in high school, they're still there."

"Which means, all that's left to figure out is how you feel about this.", Spencer finished. Emily sat in her seat in silence, then sighed, her hands clenched in her lap in frustration.

"What do you want me to say, guys? Yes, I left because he left. Yes, I missed him like hell. But do I want us to be anything more than friends? I don't know."

"Look Em, I can only tell you what I know, but I know that since you've come home, you've been hurting.", Hanna told her gently. "Since you found out that Toby was back, you've seemed... It's like, before, you were just existing, you know? Now, it's like someone's turned the lights on again, and you're finally joining the world of the living instead of just going with it. It's good to see you be you again. We've missed it."

"Hanna's right. And if Toby is the cause of that, can you blame us for not wanting anything to come along and screw that up? We want you to be happy, and if Toby makes you happy, then we're happy.", Aria explained, taking Emily's hands in her own. "Just please don't shut us out again. We're your friends and we're here for you, if you let us be."

"Guys..." Emily smiled at them, tears beginning to form in her eyes. She looked down, then wiped her eyes clear. "I don't know. When Toby left after graduation, it was like he took a piece of me with him, as corny as it sounds. I'm finally getting along without that piece, can finally function again and make something of myself without it. Am I really willing to throw that away for a chance at something I might not even want anymore?"

"Which is why you should give it a shot.", Spencer pointed out. "I don't disagree, Em. You've done amazing work and come so far in your life since Toby left. But, how happy have you been? And that notwithstanding, what harm could it do to have dinner with him? Like you said, you might not even want anything to do with him outside of business, and that's fine. But don't you want to at least see if you can be friends with him, if nothing else? That way you'll know, and won't be wondering 'What if?' for the rest of your life."

"And what if I find that I need him again?" Emily's voice was quite, and her eyes were on her hands as they lay still in her lap. "I don't want to fall back in love with him, not when it's taken me over a decade to get over the first time he broke my heart. I like where I am right now."

"We get that, Em, and it's totally your choice. Either way, we've got your back. If you and Toby decide to be something more than friends, more power to you. If not, that's the way the cookie crumbles.", Hanna promised her.

"Well, I for one have had enough of talking about Toby and all this seriousness.", Aria spoke up, then indicated to an event board by the stage next to the dining area. "After dinner, they're having salsa classes in the main lounge, and I've been dying to try them. Who's in?"

"Sounds fun, I haven't salsa danced in forever. Em, Spence?", Hanna agreed.

"I might give it a shot, as long as there are no sudden twists or anything.", Spencer considered.

"I know some warm up stretches you can do before, to make yourself more comfortable. And I'll keep an eye on you during them, so it should be okay.", Hanna promised as their waiter for the evening, Joey, came over to their table.

"Evening, ladies.", Joey greeted, smiling at the four. "What can I get you?"

Spencer listened as her friends placed their orders, grinning at Hanna as she said to hell with her diet for the night, she was having pizza. Emily was laughing at a joke Joey retold, and Aria was sending a quick text to Ellie.

The younger Hastings daughter smiled; no matter how far Mellisa went to make her life difficult, this right here? Sitting in the Grill with her best friends for a night of fun? This was what made Spencer absolutely sure that fighting Mellisa was worth it. Her real sisters made Rosewood feel like home again.

Wren drove his car into the car park in front of Mellisa's apartment, then let out a breath as he stepped out. He was in for an ear full; no woman alive could rant like Mellisa Hastings.

He pressed the buzzer for her apartment, and waited a moment. 'Yes?', Mellisa's disembodied voice greeted.

"It's me.", Wren answered. A buzzing noise sounded, and the door unlocked. Wren let out a sigh, then walked to the elevator. The ride to Mellisa's apartment passed all too quickly, and he found Mellisa leaning against her doorway, watching him as he exited the elevator. He shrugged when she gave him a skeptical look. "Well? I'm here, as per your request."

"Don't give me that, Wren. I'm in no mood for it, or you.", Mellisa snapped, her hair tied back in a bun. Wren gave her a once over, and his eyebrow arched at the hickey on her neck.

"Clearly.", he said smugly. Mellisa shot him the ugliest look imaginable, but didn't comment. "What did you want to talk to me about, Mellisa?"

"Why were you having dinner with Spencer tonight?" Wren's jaw dropped.

"Now how in the world did you find out about that?", he asked.

"I hear things. Answer the question."

"All lawyer, aren't you? Fine. I was having dinner with Spencer to congratulate her on her baby. I had also invited Alex, but he declined."

"That wasn't in the plan, Wren. Honestly, I can't guarantee you'll get what you want if you keep trying to screw with my plans.", Mellisa told him harshly.

"All I have ever wanted was for Spencer to be safe, Mellisa, and you know it. That's why I left, like you told me to.", Wren bristled.

"And now you're back, which puts dear little sister in a bit of a sticky spot." Mellisa grinned coldly at him. "Do you have any idea how easily I could tear she and Alex apart, now that she knows you're back?"

Wren felt his stomach drop to his shoes, and his face visibly paled. "Probably not as easily as you'd think. Those two are as solid as they come." He would know; only a man totally gone to love would be able to pull off that look that Alex was giving him. Wren was quite sure it would have killed him had he been subjected to it any longer. "What do you want, Mellisa?"

"I want you to leave Rosewood."

"I'm afraid I can't do that." Wren stuck his hands in his pockets. "At least not until I know Spencer is safe."

"The only thing endangering her is you being here."

"That's where you're wrong, Mellisa. Spencer has more to fear from you than she ever had to from me, and we both know it.", Wren told her. "Look, I'm here until Sunday night, let's not make this any more messy than it needs to be, alright? All I want is to make sure Alex is taking care of Spencer and the baby, and then I'll be on my merry way."

"You're really willing to give up on her? You jumped on the first flight out when I told you I had a plan for you to get her back.", Mellisa questioned.

"I wasn't, until I saw how happy she is with Alex. That's what love is, Mellisa." Wren's eyes softened as he spoke. "I know she's in better hands with Alex than she would ever have been with me, so I'm willing to let her go. The question then becomes, do you hate her enough to keep trying to make her life miserable simply for being born?"

"She's my sister, I don't hate her.", Mellisa argued grudgingly.

"Maybe not anymore, but I remember a time when you did. And you didn't answer my question."

"Spencer has gone out of her way to make my life difficult, I'm just returning the favor." It was weak reasoning by anybody's standards; to a lawyer, it should have been laughable.

"Mellisa, let it go.", Wren urged. "Move on with your life. I know I have."

"Liar. If you had, you wouldn't be here."

"Don't misunderstand me, Mellisa.", Wren warned carefully. "Yes, I'm here for Spencer, but not to harm her. I'm here to warn her."

"About what? The biggest threat to her happiness is you."

"And that's where we disagree. From where I'm standing, the biggest threat to her is you." Mellisa's jaw dropped. "You won't use me as a weapon in your war with your sister, Mellisa. I want both you and Spencer to be happy, but as long as you're around each other, neither of you will be. And with Spencer being pregnant, I'm going to warn her about you, and protect her in any way that I can."

Mellisa went pale. "You think- Wren, you listen to me. I don't like Spencer, but she's my sister and on some deep, deep level, I do love her. But you clearly don't know me if you think that I would ever do anything to harm her baby.", the older Hastings sister snarled.

"Never say never, Mellisa.", Wren said vaguely. "Love and hate make people do strange things. Now, if there's nothing else to go over, I'm going to be off to my hotel. Please do think about what I said, Mellisa. Let it go, and Spencer never has to know that you threatened her to get me to come here to try and break up she and Alex."

"She'd hate you.", Mellisa returned.

"She already does, but at least I know she's alive and well. Good night, Mellisa. Don't call me for this again, it would just waste both of our time." Wren turned and walked down the hallway, then stepped into the elevator, leaving Mellisa standing in the doorway of her apartment, looking shocked.

**Yay, drama. =P Thanks for reading, guys! Feel free to discuss, review, or even yell at me for leaving it at that point. I don't mind, I'm open to input. Have a fantastic Thursday! I myself am off to ten more hours of class. -_-;**

**Much love,  
Oracle. (L) **


	10. Friday Pt 5  Oh Yay Ben's here

**AN: Hi, guys. =) So, this chapter was kind of a pain to write. I didn't have the original copy, as I left it at home over Christmas break and forgot it when I came back, so there are some details that I've had to improvise on. This is chapter is mainly shameless filler, and a way for me to bring Ben back into view. I really don't like his character, for obvious reasons, but I felt I needed to address it because in the show, I felt they didn't really deal with her healing after the almost attack. **

**Now, I'd like it noted for the record that, as a broke university student, I don't have cable, so I can't watch the new episodes. *sad* So, pretty much everything I write from here on out will be from me and for this story; as I won't be able to see the show, I won't know what happens so I can't borrow from it. So, if some details are a little off, please feel free to correct them, but remember that I haven't seen the shows, and that this story is supposed to be an AU. **

**Thank you guys so much for all the reviews, I'm glad so many people are liking the story. I haven't gotten around to replying to the signed ones, and I apologize for that. When I get a moment, I'll send each of you a response and a thank you for your review. They really do mean a lot to me, and more feedback is always appreciated. I think that's about it. I'm really excited to get to the Saturday chapter, so I should probably get through this one. xD **

**Bear in mind that I own nothing.**

The sun had long since gone down over Rosewood when Emily returned to her parents' house for the night. The lights were off in the Fields house, her parents having gone out for a weekend away. They'd asked Emily to house sit for them, and since her own apartment had yet to be completely furnished, she'd jumped at the chance. A fully stocked fridge and satellite TV; who was she to turn that down?

Humming a salsa beat under her breath as she stepped out of the car, Emily walked up to the house she'd called home for most of her teenage years, her heels clicking as she walked. Her feet were killing her, but it had been a great night out.

"Well, well, don't you look pretty? Date night?" Emily froze in her tracks, then looked to the front porch of her parents' house. Ben was sitting by the support pillar, his legs swinging over the end of the board, and he was looking at Emily, half covered by darkness.

"Ben. What are you- Why are you here?", Emily asked. She'd been afraid of this happening; it had been a subconscious fear of her's since she'd returned to Rosewood.

"Came to see you, of course. You're a difficult girl to get a hold of, Emily.", Ben commented, standing up and ambling down the steps of her house. She saw a hair elastic that she remembered Maya using at the gym that morning around Ben's wrist, and felt her stomach tremble.

"Where's Maya?", Emily asked, feeling a sudden spike of terror for her friend.

"Home, sleeping probably. She was when I left anyway.", Ben answered with a shrug. "And Maya is what I wanted to come to talk to you about, Emily."

She crossed her arms over her chest and watched Ben from where he stood a few steps away. She didn't want to hear him out, but knew that the faster he said what he'd come there to say, the faster she could ask him to leave. "Well?"

"I know we didn't end on the best of terms-", Ben started.

Emily blanched, then scoffed. Understatement of the damn century. "'Best of terms'? Ben, you tried to rape me! If Toby hadn't stopped you-"

Ben's eyes flashed, and Emily took a step back. If he came much closer, she was going to run to her car as fast as her legs could carry her. This was exactly why she had stayed with Aria when she came back; it made sure she was never alone for long periods of time. She was always either with Aria, Mike or Ellie. Running into Ben had been a regular feature in the nightmare portion of Emily's dream cinema when she first returned to Rosewood.

"Let's talk about Cavanaugh, Emily." Ben spat out Toby's last name like poison. "Now that he's not here to interrupt. You two were getting pretty cosy back in high school. What ever happened to that?"

"Stay right where you are, Ben.", Emily warned, taking another step back. "You want to talk, fine. But stay right where you are." '_And leave Toby out of it._', she added silently.

"Emily, I'm not going to hurt you. I just want to talk.", Ben promised.

"If you'd said that before you tried to rape me, I might have believed you. But as is, I don't. So say what you came to say, but from right there.", Emily ruled out.

Ben looked like he wanted to take another step, then seemed to rethink it. Before Emily had time to assess what was happened, he was right in front of her. She took three hurried steps back and felt her back hit her car. Panic sprang to life as she realized she was trapped between her car and Ben, and had a sudden sinking feeling that this wasn't going to end well.

"You've changed, Emily. You're much more confident than you were in high school.", Ben told her, keeping those three crucial steps between them for the moment.

"Growing up will do that to a person. What do you want?", Emily demanded. Ben cocked his head to the side, considering her for a moment.

"Speaking of growing up, I came here to talk to you about Maya. Emily, like I said, I know we didn't end well, but I'm asking you not to try to get in the way of me and Maya. I know you two were a thing, but we're kind of serious and I don't want any of our history to impact that."

Emily went silent, disbelieving. "Wait a minute... She doesn't know what you tried to do to me, does she? You never told her.", Emily guessed, and saw the guilty expression flicker across his face. She felt sudden rage rear up in her chest. Rage against Ben for what he tried to do, rage over her friend being lied to by the guy who tried to rape her, and the same humiliation she felt when the initial attack happened. "She's going to find out, if not from me then from someone else."

"How, Emily? Only three people know what happened really happened. You." Ben took a step forward. "Me." Another step. "And Cavanaugh." Emily stared up at him as he blocked any way out that she might have had.

"Did you forget? I told my friends, and Spencer told my parents while I was away. Your dirty little secret is out, Ben.", Emily told him.

"You don't really think people are going to take your word over mine? Emily, I'm the town fire marshal. People trust me. I keep this town safe. They might believe your dad, but whatever accusation he throws at me, I can deny.", Ben told her. "All you and your friends are are a bunch of washed up teen queens, with reputations as liars."

"Whatever you do to me, Maya will find out, and she'll finally clue in to what a monster you really are.", Emily told him fiercely. Ben chuckled, then put both arms on either side of her, effectively trapping her. Normally, Emily tried not to fight like a stereotypical girl, but if he laid one single hand on her, she wasn't ashamed to admit that she'd put the heels to good use.

"I can deal with Maya. Right now, I think we should talk about us.", Ben replied. Emily did not like the look he gave her as those words passed his lips, and her stomach gave a twist in revulsion. Suddenly, her dress didn't feel like something to wear for a night on the town with her friends, it felt like a liability.

"There hasn't been an 'us' since you tried to rape me. Get the hell away from me, you psycho!", Emily demanded, shoving against Ben's chest and pushing him away from her. Ben got his balance back, then grinned at her.

"I heard what you said to Mona in the gym. Sweet little Emily has grown a backbone.", Ben told her, then walked closer. Emily put her back away from the car, giving herself plenty of room to run if she needed to. "You think you can leave, then come back and reshape the town? Doesn't work like that, Emily."

"It doesn't have to for me to be very clear about this. 1) There hasn't been an 'us' for years, and there never will be again. 2) If you do anything to hurt me or my friends, including Maya, I promise to make you regret it. And 3) You've worn out your welcome. I want you off of my property before I call the police and have you arrested for trespassing." Emily's hand dug into her purse and pulled out her phone, trying not to acknowledge that the police chief was Ben's best friend.

"This isn't your property anymore, Emily."

"It's my parents' home, which makes it mine, and I'm legally responsible for it until they get back. I'll say it again, you're not welcome here. Get lost."

Ben grabbed her arms and forced her back against the trunk of her car. Emily, for a split second, was brought back of that day in the locker room, then snapped back to reality. She pushed back against him, trying to get him away from her.

"Let's say, for argument's sake, that you do call the police. It'll take them, what, ten, fifteen minutes to get here?", Ben guessed, holding onto her arms. Emily stayed silent. Words wouldn't work their way free from her throat. He grinned at her. "A lot can happen in fifteen minutes, Emily."

A scream began to form in her throat as she tried to find the words through her panic. This wasn't happening. This could NOT be happening, not again. Heels kicked out and bit into Ben's shins, getting a pained grunt but little else from the fire marshal.

Emily began to feel his fingers bruise her arms as she struggled, but couldn't make any headway. "Now.", Ben told her. "Feel like having that talk I mentioned earlier?"

"Go to hell!", Emily answered.

Ben's head snapped around at the sound of gravel crunched behind them and car headlights shone on the two as Jenna's car drove behind Emily's car in the driveway. "Emily?" Jenna got out of the driver's seat, dressed in pajama pants, sneakers, a t-shirt and a light jacket, followed by Toby, who climbed out of the passenger seat. Emily hadn't felt so relieved to see him since that day in the locker room.

The fact that he was wielding a pipe wrench that still carried the store sticker didn't register to her, but from the look of anxiety and frustration on Ben's face, he noticed it. Jenna's glasses were skewed over her face, but she aimed a glare at Ben as the two ran to where Emily and Ben stood. "Ben, what the hell? Get away from her!"

Ben released Emily's arms and took a couple steps away from her while Jenna ran to her side. Toby stayed behind Ben, keeping both eyes fixed on him while Jenna fussed over Emily, who stood beside her car, looking shocked. Ben threw a scowl at Toby, then said, "Well, well. Isn't this cute? The kissing siblings coming to your rescue, Emily? What, did you date Jenna too while we were apart?"

"Shut up, Ben. Emily, are you okay? Did he hurt you?", Jenna snapped while rolling her eyes, checking the red finger marks on Emily's arm. Emily felt the air leave her and she slumped against the car, suddenly exhausted. "Emily? Do you need to go see a doctor?"

"I'm okay, Jenna. He just freaked me out a little. I'm okay.", Emily assured her, even though she felt bone tired. Toby gave her a quick glance over, and judged she'd be asleep within an hour.

"What are you doing here, Ben?", Toby asked quietly. Personally speaking, Toby was itching to go to town on Ben with the pipe wrench. He and Jenna were in the area by luck alone. They'd gone into town to return a movie before the store closed and to pick up a wrench that Toby needed. When they'd turned down Emily's street as a short cut to their parents' place, Jenna let out a gasp when she saw Ben back Emily against the car. Toby spotted them next, then had a horrible flashback of the locker room. He thanked any God that would listen that Jenna hadn't needed to hear him ask her to pull over at Emily's place, but had grabbed the pipe wrench he'd asked Jenna to drive him into town to pick up.

Ben aimed an ugly sneer at him. "Here to talk to Emily, not that it's any of your business, Cavanaugh."

"If you hurt my friends, I consider it my business, Coogen.", Toby shot back. Ben scoffed.

"Friends. Right. Cavanaugh, who do you think you're fooling here? We all know you're obsessed with Emily.", Ben told him. He walked in front of Toby, and both Jenna and Emily noted that he was a good three inches shorter than Toby. "What's your game, Cavanaugh? You think that if you save Emily enough, she'll want to be with you? Yeah, right."

"No game, Coogen. Emily being safe is what matters most to me. It's none of my business who she's with." And didn't that hurt to say. "Aren't you supposed to be in Chicago?"

"I'm leaving tomorrow morning. I wanted to stop by and talk to Emily before I left, clear the air as it were. And Emily is way out of your league, Cavanaugh." Toby felt his temper slowly rising, and knew that if Ben didn't shut up right then, there would be a fist fight on Emily's front lawn.

"Could say the same about you.", Jenna broke in. She put herself between Ben and Toby, her eyes glaring daggers at him. "Toby, go stand with Emily. Ben, who the hell do you think you are, jumping a girl in the dead of night? There are laws against that you know, and they apply to everyone, even the best friend of the police chief."

"I didn't jump her-", Ben began to protest.

"You would have if we hadn't come along!", Jenna bit back. "You have no right scaring the girl out of her mind! And since when is hanging out at empty houses at all hours of the night in the fire marshal job description? Heaven only knows what you'd have done if we hadn't shown up! Knowing the kind of guy you are, I wouldn't put much past you."

"Hey, just hold it right there-"

"No, don't you even think of trying to talk your way out of this! I know what you did to Emily in high school, the entire town does."

"I didn't do anything to her!"

"But you tried." Toby's voice was dead calm as he stood next to Emily, an arm slightly curled around her waist and the wrench clenched in his free hand. "Say what you want, Ben, but you need to leave. Now."

"This isn't your property, Cavanaugh."

"No, but it is mine, and I told you, twice in fact, to get off of said property.", Emily spoke up, glaring at Ben.

"You heard the lady, Ben. Get a move on.", Jenna added.

Ben backed away from the three of them, and when his feet hit the sidewalk, he stopped. "Well, well. It figures. You can't fight your own battles, Emily? You need the incestuous siblings to fight them for you? That's just sad."

"First, we're step siblings. Second, that was a long time ago. And third, get the hell out of here before I really lose my temper.", Jenna explained. Ben looked at Toby, who stood behind Emily.

"I don't envy you, Cavanaugh. You're not good enough for her, but you just keep trying."

Jenna rolled her eyes, but Emily grabbed her hand before she could reply. "Ben, just stop being a pain and go away. I've had more than enough of you for one night.", Emily told him, her voice as strong as she could make it.

"All right, have it your way." Ben shrugged. "We'll continue this conversation when these two can't interrupt, Emily."

"You're not getting anywhere near her, Ben.", Toby told him point blank. Ben raised his eye brow.

"We'll see. Good night, Emily. Cavanaugh, Jenna." Ben turned and walked down the sidewalk, not giving the three another glance. When he was out of sight, Emily leaned against her car tiredly, then put her head in her hands.

"Emily, are you sure you're okay?", Jenna asked.

"I'll be okay. He just scared the daylights out of me.", Emily admitted.

"What did he want?", Jenna wondered.

"He wanted to make sure I hadn't told Maya about the locker room incident, said he didn't want our bad break up to hurt his relationship with her.", Emily explained with a cringe.

"He decided to have this conversation at 11 o'clock at night?", Jenna exclaimed, rolling her eyes.

"He was waiting for me when I got here. Not that I'm not thankful you were here, but what are you guys doing here anyway?"

"We had to go into town for some things, and I didn't want Toby riding his motorcycle around town this late.", Jenna replied.

"Do you want one of us to stay with you tonight, make sure everything is okay? Or come over to our place?", Toby offered.

Emily honestly considered it for a moment, but shook her head. She'd be on the phone all night to Aria because she knew she wasn't going to get to sleep. "No, thanks guys. I think I'll be alright. Thank you both for sticking up for me." She pulled Jenna into a hug, and if Jenna noticed the shaking, she didn't mention it.

"Any time.", Jenna told her, stepping back with a smile.

" You sure you'll be okay?", Toby asked as he pulled Emily into a hug. She wrapped her arms around his neck and refused to acknowledge that the shaking that had been rattling her bones stopped.

"I'll be fine. I promise.", she told him. She turned her head and spoke directly into his ear. "And, for what it's worth, between the two of you, you're the better man. I hope you know that."

Toby didn't reply, but felt the weight of that statement as he let go of her. Jenna was openly grinning at them, but Toby shot her a look that said, 'Don't even start'. Behind Emily's back, Jenna held up her hands in a symbol of surrender, but still had an evil grin on her face. Toby wanted to groan; she was plotting again, and she'd have all the time in the world to get the details worked out while he was in New York.

"I thought you were going back to New York?", Emily questioned, wrapping her arms around her in an attempt to stay warm. She might have just been tired, but it suddenly seemed a lot colder. Toby dropped his sweater across her shoulders without words, and Emily smiled at him.

"I'm leaving early tomorrow morning. I needed to do some work on Jenna's car before I left.", Toby answered. "If you need anything or if Ben comes back, call me or Jenna, alright? We'll both be there." It went unsaid that he'd be on his way back to Rosewood in a heartbeat if Ben set foot near her.

"Will do.", Emily promised. "Do you guys want to come in? I'm freezing."

"We need to get back to the house, check up on mom.", Jenna answered with a frown. "If anything happens, call. I mean it, Emily."

"I will, I swear. Say hi to your parents for me.", Emily agreed with a roll of her eyes and a smile. "Good night, guys. And thanks again."

"Good night. No worries, that's what friends are for.", Jenna replied. Toby looked like he didn't want to move from that spot, and Jenna rolled her eyes, then quietly said, "Come on, Toby."

"Night, Em.", Toby said in farewell as Jenna grabbed his arm and pulled him to her car. Emily waved to them as they drove past, then let out a huge exhale. The shaking returned and when she was inside her parents' house, she set the security system and deadbolted the door, something that hadn't been done since she was seven. Feeling too exposed in the dress, she rooted through her mom's clothes and changed into sweat pants and an old t-shirt of her dad's, and wrapped a thick blanket around her. For the rest of the night, she was sitting on the couch by the window, on the phone and retelling Aria the events of the evening.

Aria, to put it mildly, panicked and offered to pack Ellie up and bring her over to the house so Emily wasn't alone, but in a moment of paranoia, Emily declined. If Ben came back, she didn't want to risk either of them being in danger. The English teacher scoffed but respected her wishes, and around two in the morning, said to Emily that she couldn't stay up any longer if she wanted to be awake for her trip to her mom's gallery the next day. Emily bid her a good night, and spent the rest of the night reading by lamplight, sitting by the window in the living room. By the time the sun crept up over the town, Emily was laying on her side, book still in hand, and fast asleep from pure exhaustion.

**AN: I'm so sorry, Emily! I'll make it up to you, promise! Jenna seemed a little OOC, but personally, this chapter was really difficult to write. **

**That's i****t, guys. Hope you enjoyed it, and thank you for reading it. ****Oh, one more thing. I'm surprised no one has mentioned this yet. In the last chapter, Mellisa had a hickey, but in this story, Ian is no where to be found as yet, she hasn't eloped with anyone else, and the hickey isn't from Wren. Thoughts? Lemme know.**

******Oh, and PS: I'm working on Saturday's chapters right now. SO EXCITED.**

**Enjoy your Tuesday, everyone. I had four vials of blood drawn today for tests, so I'm a little loopy. I'm gonna go get some sleep.**

Much love,  
Oracle. (L) 


	11. Saturday Pt 1

**AN: Hi. :) I'm so unbelievably stoked about the turns this story is about to take, guys, it's incredible. I don't want to stop writing it. Thank you for the review on the last chapter I posted, I'm glad you guys liked it so much. No big announcements in this one, but this is the beginning of the Saturday arc. The big one is coming up soon, but for this one, I've set up some character arrivals, and Ella is very, very sneaky. I love writing Aria. I don't know why, I just do. Her character just comes so easily to me that I have a blast writing her. I hope I do her justice. **

**That's it, please enjoy the beginning of the Saturday instalment of 'Hopeless'. **

**Disclaimer: If you recognize it, I don't own it.**

Saturday morning had dawned all too early for Aria Montgomery, and she stood in her mom's kitchen nursing a cup of coffee. Thank God for mothers, she thought silently as her mom and brother sat with Ellie in the living room, going through her various artwork. 12 year old kids were exhausting enough, but when you're running on less than five hours sleep and had been packing art work into a Camry after being woken up by said 12, turning 13, year old kid, it was the beginning of a rough morning.

Aria leaned against the counter in the apartment her mom had called home since she found out about her dad's affair. When she'd been a teenager, the place had been a negative one for Aria; even with the A disaster, it was a reminder of what her dad had done, and it had taken a while for her to really forgive him for breaking their family apart. Granted, she was in no place to throw stones, as her lies had almost gotten Ezra arrested.

The familiar twinge of her heart at that name had her doing a rapid backpedal, away from the memories and back into reality. The reality being that her daughter was sitting in the living room, alive and enthusiastic, and her brother was busy debating the merits of different wood types for the frames she wanted, and her mother was standing in the doorway looking at Aria.

Ella smiled as Aria came back to the world around her, and shook her head as she walked by to the fridge. "I know that look. Rough night?", Ella asked, opening the fridge and handing Aria the container of milk. If anyone could consume far too much coffee for their own good, it was her daughter, and with the bags under her eyes, Ella figured Aria needed to wind down.

"You could say that.", Aria agreed, rolling her eyes and setting down the coffee cup. She poured a glass of milk for herself and one for her mom, then handed the container back. Taking the drink in hand, she took a sip, then said, "Ben stopped by Emily's house last night."

Ella stopped. She turned to look at Aria, then slowly placed the container back in the fridge. Shutting the door, Ella leaned against it and crossed her arms around her waist. "Really. Well, we should have seen it coming. Is Emily alright?"

"Shaken. I was up on the phone with her until two. Ellie was almost in tears, she was so scared.", Aria sighed. "He was waiting for her when she got in from dinner with me and the girls last night, mom. If Jenna and Toby hadn't driven by when they did, who knows what would have happened?"

"Don't think about it, Aria, you'll only hurt yourself. The important thing is that she's safe now. Has she contacted the police?", Ella asked.

"Pfft, who, Sean?", Aria scoffed. "Mom, Ben is his best friend. Even if he did take it seriously, it would just give Ben another line on Emily."

"Maybe you should ask her about moving back in with you until her place is finished?", Ella suggested. "Ellie would love it, and you know Mike enjoyed having someone to play basketball with."

"I suggested that to her last night, but she said she didn't want Ellie or me to be involved incase Ben came back. She didn't want us getting hurt.", Aria explained. "I wish there was something I could do."

"Do the others know about this?"

"Hanna's on her way to a B&B outside of town with Lucas for her anniversary, Emily didn't want to spoil it for her. And with Spencer pregnant, Emily didn't want to put her in any danger, or under any stress. Ben is going to Chicago apparently for the weekend, so Emily figured she'd be okay until the week. Then, I don't know. I'm going to try to get her to stay at the house until her parents get back from vacation, just for her piece of mind, and mine.", Aria answered.

"Probably for the best, honey. But don't go getting yourself sick over this. Emily is a strong girl, she'll be alright.", Ella told her, and when Ellie was heard laughing in the living room, Ella changed the subject. "That's quite the kid you've got out there, Aria."

Aria laughed. "Yeah, she's … She's something else. I'm so proud of her, mom. You should have seen her going through her artwork this morning."

"She's her own greatest critic, I've always said that.", Ella agreed. "She's very talented, and I'm glad she's getting the chance to have her work shown in Toby's gallery. She's over the moon about him, as well."

"I know! I had no idea Jenna had been showing her clips of his past showings at his New York gallery. She knew all the lighting details, the layouts he's used. I learned more about Toby Cavanaugh's gallery in the car ride over here than I ever thought I could.", Aria exclaimed with a smile. "Pretty sure Toby and Jenna are the coolest people ever to her right now."

"Honey, I promise you that'll always be you.", Ella assured her with a smile. "So, excited about Ellie's party coming up, and school starting so soon?"

"Ellie's party, yes. Work, not so much. Like seven are coming in, so I'll have to take over training and stuff for the new English teachers." Aria wrinkled her nose. She loved people, but training fellow teachers always felt so foreign to her.

Ella had a secretive smile on her face as she turned back to the over, then replied. "I'm sure it'll be fine, honey. You might even get a surprise or two. So, what's the plan for Ellie's birthday party? Dinner for the family at the house, and a party for the others?"

"Sounds good. I spoke to the management at the Grill and rented out the game room and dance floor for next week, so that takes care of feeding the kids for the actual party. Spence, Em and I are taking her to the mall tomorrow so she can pick out her birthday present. Hanna was so upset that she wasn't going to be there.", Aria explained with a chuckle, and Ella laughed.

"Remember when Ellie was little? Hanna would babysit her, then you'd come home to Ellie turned into a dress up doll.", Ella laughed, and Aria shook her head with a smile.

"Oh I remember. The number of times I told her not to put make up on my kid. It's no wonder Ellie hates the stuff."

"Give her time. You hated make up too, until you discovered the wonder of pink hair dye."

"No. Absolutely not, Ellie isn't allowed to do that to her hair.", Aria ruled out. "I can't believe you let me do that! I looked ridiculous!"

"It was a phase, I knew you'd grow out of it.", Ella shrugged.

"Thankfully.", Aria sighed.

"I can't believe my granddaughter is turning 13.", Ella commented, sounding bewildered. "Where did the time go?"

"Who knows?", Aria agreed. Ella's hands were fidgeting slightly as she turned to go through the cupboard.

"Have you heard from Noal lately?", Ella asked. Aria's back went stiff, and she shrugged.

"No, but he'll probably call. Usually does for Ellie's birthday.", Aria answered, trying to sound nonchalant.

"Aria-"

"Don't, mom. I'm not asking him to come back.", Aria shot down quickly.

"Does Ellie know he asked you if he could stay the weekend for her birthday?", Ella asked.

"No, I told her he called, but not about what." Aria raked a hand through her hair. "Mom, he left me high and dry when Ellie was born. I know he wants to be in Ellie's life, and that's fine, but if I let him come back, he's going to think that he can just pick up from where we left off and that's not an option. I don't love him anymore."

Ella began to chew her lip, then shut the cupboard and looked at Aria. "I'm not saying you have to give him a chance to be a better boyfriend, but give him a chance to try being a father. At least tell Ellie he wants to come see her for her birthday and let her make up her own mind about it."

"Maybe... I don't know. If it went badly, it would really sour Ellie's birthday, and make a really bad start to the school year... But, I'll talk to her about it when we go home tonight."

"That's my girl.", Ella told her. "So, any gossip on the new teachers? I feel so out of the loop since I stopped going to PTA meetings."

"Not really.", Aria answered, thankful for the topic change as the two of them sat around the counter top in the kitchen. "All pretty clean cut, a couple are straight out of school. There is one I'm just now hearing about. Mrs. Walsh was very hush-hush about it so I don't even have a name, but apparently there's one coming in from Delaware, I think. She's not telling anyone anything about him, but from what she's said, he's an awesome teacher, great reviews."

"Hm. Could be interesting.", Ella replied, not saying anything further. Aria's eyebrow arched.

"Mom, something you want to share with the class?", Aria asked.

"Hmm? No, just thinking.", Ella shrugged. "Seems the new year is bringing a whole bunch of people back to town. It'll be good to see how everyone's changed."

"Huh?", Aria asked when Ellie bounded into the kitchen.

"Mom! Uncle Mike had this great idea. What do you think about steel?", Ellie asked, her hands on the table and her wavy brown hair tied back in a pony tail. One of her favorite t-shirts, a black one that Alex had given her with the Batman logo on it, had paint splotches on the hem, as did her jeans, but to Aria, Ellie was the most perfect child she'd ever seen.

"The metal? Nice jewelery, but I really have no strong feelings for it either way, honey. Why?", Aria asked, confused.

"Well, Uncle Mike and I were talking about some new art mediums I could think about getting into, and he was telling me about metal work. Mom, I could make some awesome abstract-"

"Ellie, sweetheart.", Ella broke in gently when Aria turned pale. "Let your mom breathe for a minute."

"Metal work?", Aria asked, stunned. "Ellie, I don't think-"

"But-", Ellie began to interrupt, and Ella sent her a quick reproachful look.

"El, I'll make a deal with you. Take a shop class this year or next, and if you still have an interest in it, we'll talk about getting you into a studio to do some metal work.", Aria bargained. No way was her kid doing metal work unsupervised.

"But mom, classroom work is so stuffy.", Ellie complained.

"Regardless. Those are my terms, honey. Take them or leave them.", Aria told her, putting her foot down.

"Deal. Thanks mom, Grandma!", Ellie agreed, then ran back into the living room. Aria had no doubt that she was going to plan a way around her promise, and that Mike would help her do it. Those two had been as thick as thieves, as the saying went, since Ellie had been old enough to talk. Having Mike around to help had made raising Ellie so much easier but also more hectic, and Aria, though right Mike was going to get an earful for this, was thankful for his help.

Aria turned to Ella, who had a slight smile on her face. "Mom? I'm going to kill your son for this."

"I assumed as much.", Ella answered.

"Metal work? What was he thinking?", Aria asked in shock.

"You know your brother. I'm going to get a burn treatment kit ready and waiting, just in case.", Ella commented.

"I'll get one and keep it in my car.", Aria sighed, putting her head in her hands. "This is going to be one hell of a year."

Ella thought she had that right as she remembered the email from an old friend in Delaware, telling her that he was moving back to Rosewood, and asking her not to tell Aria about it, and the one right after it from Noal, saying that he was coming in to town to surprise Ellie for her birthday. One hell of a year, indeed.

**AN: Enjoy what's left of your Tuesday, and your Wednesday, everyone. Thoughts? Comments? Questions? Reviews are both loved and welcome. **

**Much love,  
Oracle. (L) **


	12. Saturday Pt 2 Oh, Sean

**AN: Hi guys! Nothing too Earth shattering in this one, just the set up for Sean's latest plan, and some Ashley/ Byron interaction! I'm trying to warm up to their pairing, but all I really see them as at the moment is convenient plot device. It's early days yet, give me time. Now, I must be off to get coffee before class, but please enjoy the latest chapter of 'Hopeless'!**

**Please note that I own nothing. =)**

Ashley Marin had never thought she'd be where she was right then, standing in her kitchen with a coffee in one hand and her phone in the other, Byron smiling at her from the other side of the counter top, and talking her ex husband down from a panic attack over Lucas' upcoming proposal to their daughter. She sighed as Tom relayed all his paternal fears, saying that he liked Lucas but didn't want to see Hanna hurt if it didn't work out. She glanced down; you know it's going to be a long morning, she mused, when both your boyfriend and your bunny slippers are mocking you.

"Tom, relax. Hanna and Lucas are solid, they have been since she ditched Sean.", Ashley told her ex, walking around and giving Byron a kiss on the cheek in passing.

"How can I relax? My only daughter is going to be getting married, Ashley! Married! Do you know what that means?", Tom asked. Ashley knew he wasn't trying to be condescending, it was just the way Tom worried. It didn't stop her from being sufficiently irked, but it did stop her from verbally ripping his head off.

"Okay. First, Hanna is a grown woman, Tom. I know you don't like hearing it, but it's true. Second, Lucas hasn't even proposed yet. Save your panicking for the actual wedding. And finally, third, she's my daughter just as much as she is yours. She knows what she wants; you just have to trust her to follow through with it.", Ashley explained to him.

Tom let out a ragged breath, and Ashley would bet her bottom dollar that he had just run a hand through his hair. Even after being separated for so long, she still knew him. "And what if Lucas makes the same mistake I did?"

Coffee went flying from Ashley's mouth, spattering across the counter top. Byron got up from his seat and walked to where she stood, concern flashing across his face. Ashley waved him off with a strained smile as she tried to cough to clear her throat.

"Ashley? Ash, are you okay?", Tom asked in concern as Byron rubbed her back. Ashley coughed one last time, then inhaled.

"W-What?"

"I asked if you were okay.", Tom repeated.

"No, before that. Mistake?", Ashley asked. She and Tom never talked about his cheating on her. As a courtesy to Hanna, they avoided the topic like the plague. She'd finally gotten her life on track after Alison's death derailed it, she didn't need her parents snipping at each other.

"Yeah. If Hanna and Lucas start a family and he hurts them like I hurt you and Hanna, I won't need to be a mob boss to kick his ass.", Tom explained. "I know that what I did was wrong, but I think it worked out for the best. But, I want to spare Hanna that pain."

"Uh, well, Tom. There are somethings that even a parent can't control, and sometimes your kids get hurt. It kills you inside.", Ashley told him, thinking back to when Hanna was hit by that car in high school. "But you can't protect your kids from all the hurt in the world. If you try, you're only doing a disservice to them."

"I know you're right.", Tom sighed.

"You're still going to hyperventilate the next time you see Lucas, aren't you?", Ashley asked with a smirk.

"I'm hyperventilating now, and they're not even engaged just yet. When they are engaged, I might pass out.", Tom scoffed and Ashley rolled her eyes.

"It's all going to work out for the best, Tom.", Ashley assured him. "Just wait. You'll see, I'm right."

"You always are.", Tom laughed. "I'm sorry I called you at eleven o'clock on a Saturday morning to bother you with this, Ashley. I just- Where did my little girl go? When did she grow up and decide she was ready to move in with a guy and get married?"

"I ask myself that same question every day.", Ashley replied. "But all together, I think we did a pretty decent job with her."

"I'd say so. Well, I should let you go. I know you love to sleep in on Saturdays.", Tom told her. "Say hello to Byron for me, and tell him I look forward to seeing him on the golf course."

"Will do. Tom says hi.", Ashley told Byron, who waved back as he took a sip of his coffee. "He says he looks forward to wiping the golf course with you the next time he sees you."

"Ashley!", Tom exclaimed with a laugh. "This is what I get for waking you up on a Saturday morning? You turn my golfing partner against me?"

"Karma. Bye, Tom. Say hi to Isabel and Kate for me.", Ashley replied. In truth, she still couldn't stand Isabel – something about the wrath of a woman scorned came to mind – but she'd grown used to Kate over time.

"Bye.", Tom laughed, then hung up. Ashley chuckled, putting the phone down on the counter. She walked over to Byron, who smiled at her when she put her arms around his shoulders and nestled her head between his shoulder blades.

"Fun wake up call?", Byron asked, getting an exasperated sigh from Ashley in response.

"I forgot just how panicky that man can be.", was her muffled reply. "He'd been up all night worrying about Hanna, that's the only reason he'd be freaked out enough to call me."

"I know the feeling. I went through the same thing when Noal started talking about asking Aria to marry him." And he privately thanked God every day that that never came to pass. Ellie was a Godsend, but her biological father was a pain in the ass.

"That reminds me, Ella called me the other day.", Ashley began, and Byron's back went straight. "Don't tense up just yet, I haven't even told you what she said."

"Ellie's birthday is tomorrow. I need only one guess.", Byron groused, his mood suddenly taking a dive. "He's coming back into town, isn't he?"

"For the week. He asked Ella if he could stay at her studio."

"She said no?", Byron assumed. He and Ella had managed to patch things up with their relationship shortly after Aria became pregnant. They both knew that they still loved each other and the family they'd made, but they also knew that they'd run their course. Ella could never bring herself to go back to a man who'd cheated on his wife and destroyed his family, and Byron felt guilt choke him whenever he looked at the pictures from Iceland. Not only that, but Ella was happy running her studio and casually dating when time allowed for it, and Byron was over the moon about he and Ashley being together.

When Noal had left Aria pregnant and alone, Byron, like any self respecting father, wanted the wannabe rocker's head on his mantle, but Ella and Aria had managed to talk him down from it. He had thought he and Ella were on the same page when it came to Noal Khan, but apparently they weren't if she was still in contact with him.

"She said no, that if he wanted to come into town to see Ellie, that was his prerogative as her father. But, as for him having any contact with Aria outside of seeing Ellie, that was Aria's decision.", Ashley told him.

"I think the only people Aria wants less to do with than Noal are Sean Ackard and Ben Coogen.", Byron replied with a laugh.

"I've got to agree with you there... But, that's not all Ella told me." And here would come the explosion, she knew.

"What could possibly be worse than the guy who knocked up my daughter then ditched her coming back to town?", Byron asked, laughing.

"... The teacher she fell in love with and broke her heart over coming back into town?", Ashley answered quietly. Byron's head whipped around to face her, and she shook her head yes to the silent question on his face.

"What?", was all Byron could ask.

"He and Ella became friends when Aria was in high school, and after he left town before their secret came out, she made him promise to keep in contact with her. He's coming back to, I presume, try to win back Aria.", Ashley explained. "When he told Ella, he begged her to keep it quiet."

"You've got to be kidding me...", Byron exhaled slowly. "Ezra and Noal are coming back into town? Aria's going to have a break down, Ashley!"

"Give your girl a little more credit, Byron. She's raised a kid all by herself since the father left her high and dry, she's as tough as nails and you know you.", Ashley admonished.

"So she doesn't know any of this?", Byron checked. "Which means I'm going to have to lie to my daughter all through my granddaughter's birthday so she doesn't figure out that the father of her child and the teacher she fell in love with are both coming back to Rosewood?"

"... I assume we're looking for a more defined answer than yes?"

"Oh good God...", Byron groaned. Ashley rubbed his back, then jumped as the doorbell rang.

"Who in the world-?", Ashley asked, walking to the door. She opened it to find Sean Ackard. Speak of the damned Devil.

"Ms. Marin, good morning.", Sean greeted. He was wearing his police chief uniform, sans the ridiculous hat, and looked like he was trying to pull off the morose look and failing miserably.

"Sean. What can I do for you?", Ashley asked.

"It's actually about Hanna. Do you know how I can get a hold of her?", Sean asked. Ashley wanted to scream, and tell him to stay the hell away from her daughter on her anniversary.

"I'm sorry, she and Lucas are out of town for the weekend. Their anniversary. I can pass along any messages though.", Ashley deflected politely. And by pass along, she meant that she'd mention them six months down the road when it wouldn't do Sean any good.

"I'm sorry, Ms. Marin, but I really need to speak to Hanna. She needs to get back to town, asap.", Sean informed her.

"What? Why?", Byron asked, walking up behind Ashley.

"Mr. Montgomery. I was contacted by the city council this morning; they were going over the leases of the major businesses in town and they found that Hanna's was up for renewal, by Monday morning at the latest. She needs to go see them before then to sign the renewal papers, or the place will be sealed up early Monday morning."

"That's absurd! Hanna wouldn't have left it to the last minute.", Ashley argued.

"I know she didn't, I drove her to the town hall with the signed renewal papers myself.", Byron added.

"I'm sorry, Ms. Marin, Mr. Montgomery, I'm just following orders. But I need to get a hold of Hanna as quickly as possible, I don't want to see her lose the clinic.", Sean replied.

Ashley nodded. "Come in, I'll call her and you can tell her the news yourself." No way was she going to be the one to tell Hanna that her anniversary weekend had to be cut short, especially because of Sean.

'It's a good thing Hanna has medical training.', she thought, walking into the kitchen with the two males. 'Lucas is going to have a stroke when he hears this.'

**AN: And I'm off. 'Til next time, everyone. Enjoy your Thursday. **

**Much love,  
Oracle. (L) **


	13. Saturday Pt 3 Well hey there, drama

**AN: Here's another chapter, my loves. This is one of the ones that I'm seriously excited about. I won't say too much, but it involves Jenna and a potential pairing that I don't think anyone saw coming. I'll let you decide what you think about it, but I've been waiting to write this chapter since the summer. Things are about to get interesting.**

**Enjoy chapter 3 in the Saturday arc of 'Hopeless'. Please note that I own nothing. **

The intensity of the downtown business sector never ceased to amaze Jenna. The towering sky scrapers, the aroma of coffee wafting from the many 24 hour cafes, the sound of imported engines rumbling down the narrow streets. It was something that, when she was blind, she learned to appreciate in a complex way. She had accepted that she could never visually see them, but she could picture them in her mind from the noises that fell down on her.

Taking her sunglasses off and embracing the view, as she did every time she walked down the financial sector sidewalks on her way to the bank, Jenna crossed the street and found herself looking at Smithton, Hastings, and Co. It was the main law office in Rosewood, which one of Rosewood's reigning queens of all things legal, Mellisa Hastings, ruled with an iron fist.

It reminded Jenna somewhat of a castle. The towering tips of the office building stretched so far up that Jenna literally needed to stand still and stare straight up to see where the building ended and the sky began. The windows were tinted, and cast iron fencing enclosed the ground floor, protecting the windows from the vandalism of mischievous youths. The building itself was made of deep red granite, and the words, 'Smithton, Hastings, and Co.' were displayed in proud gold, curving letters on the front.

Strong, yet elegant. Fitting, Jenna mused, because if it was a castle, then Mellisa Hastings was the queen of all she surveyed.

'But what else is new?', she asked herself with a grin as she walked up to the short flight of stairs to the entryway. Mellisa had shocked the town when she graduated law school and was offered a job inside the prestigious building by Jason DiLaurentis, the Vice President of the building. No one had really thought anything of it; everyone expected Mellisa to rise to the top far more quickly than normal.

What no one had predicted was her being promoted by the company's CEO, a man by the name of Edward Smithton who didn't reside in Rosewood, to co- VP with Jason within two years. Jason, from all accounts, had handled it gracefully in public, but in private, was madder than a wet hen, as the saying went. Jenna wasn't surprised; Jason never did share glory very well.

'Except with Alison.', she corrected mentally. If there was ever to be an equal to Alison's particular brand of viciousness, it was her older brother. The man was ruthless in the court room, and wasn't anything less in real life. Rumors kicked up every couple months about a secretary of his being fired for some asinine reason, or some rival lawyer being disbarred under mysterious circumstances, or even one time where a rival DA had dropped charges on a court case he could have easily won but backed out when Jason took the case. But, true or false as they may have been, the name DiLaurentis was still worth the bearer's weight in gold around Rosewood, and the rumors were quickly silenced.

She mentally chuckled as she stepped into the foyer, her heels clicking against the tile. Working for Jason in the aftermath of Mellisa's promotion must have been a one way ticket straight to Hell.

Jenna approached the greeting desk, her file folder tucked securely under her arm. Normally, she would have been in behind the desk of the studio, handling phones and juggling schedules, but today was the exception. Toby had called her from New York that morning to ask if she knew where the paperwork for the old DiLaurentis house was in his luggage. Jenna, who had just been clearing off the living room table when he called, happened to have the papers in her hand and told him so.

Toby, to put it lightly, freaked. He had signed the paperwork and was going to fax it to Jason while he was in New York so he didn't have to physically see him. That plan had gone up in smoke.

Jenna, being the good hearted person she really was, offered to take the paperwork to Jason herself for him to sign, and he could fax it back to Toby, making the process complete. Toby hadn't been thrilled with it, but had grudgingly accepted the offer, telling her to be careful around Jason. Jenna had rolled her eyes, but promised to do so. She could handle Jason DiLaurentis.

Walking up to the secretary, a perky redhead who looked like she'd spent a little too much time bleaching her teeth that morning, smiled at Jenna. The formerly blind girl did a quick name tag check. Abby, apparently. Even her name sounded perky.

"Good afternoon, what can I do for you?", Abby asked. Jenna returned the smile, then shifted the file folder into her hands.

"Good afternoon. I'm here to see Jason DiLaurentis.", Jenna answered. Abby's eyebrow arched and she looked at the clock, then grinned.

"Of course. Could I have your name, please?"

"Jenna Cavanaugh. I called early this morning for an appointment."

"Oh, yes, I remember. I let him know, he said to send you on up when you arrived.", Abby remembered. "Take that elevator up to the sixth floor, Mr. DiLaurentis' office is 4C, you can't miss it."

"Great. Thank you.", Jenna replied with a smile, then walked to the elevator. She stepped in and pressed the 6 button, then leaned against the railing as the elevator slowly ascended. When a bell 'ding'ed and the doors slowly opened, Jenna found herself walking into a battle field.

Jason's face was a violent shade of red as he stood by the reception desk. His hair was going every which way, his shirt was ruffled, the outer jacket missing entirely, and his tie was hanging loose on his neck. Mellisa stood on the other side of the desk, her hair flipping out of the bun she'd tamed it into and her face blushing a bright red. Her manicured hands were balled into fists at her side, and her her eyes were glittering with fury.

"How dare you, Jason? You had no right to snake that case from me!", Mellisa screamed at him, her very abused BlackBerry clenched in her left hand.

"All's fair in love and business, Hastings, I figured you would know that!", Jason replied scathingly. "I saw an opening and I took it. Isn't that your family motto?"

"Do not talk to me about shots right now, DiLaurentis. I promise you it won't be pretty.", Mellisa snarled. Behind the desk, the receptionist was watching the two magnates fight with wide, nervous eyes. Jenna sympathized and sent a silent prayer to whatever God decided that she got Emily as a boss. Working for these two must have been like living in the eye of a hurricane.

"Well, I am just terrified.", Jason sneered. "Get over it, Mellisa. There will be other cases for you."

Mellisa looked like she wasn't a far cry from turning purple, and then she looked down at her BlackBerry. She smirked at Jason, then shrugged. "I'll deal with you later, DiLaurentis. I have a new case to prep for."

Jason rolled his eyes. "Can't wait. Have fun now." Mellisa scoffed, then turned. The two lawyers realized Jenna's presence at the same time, and the silence slammed down faster than a security door in a lock down.

"Jenna. Hi, what are you doing here?", Mellisa greeted awkwardly.

"Mellisa. I'm here to see Jason, I have some paperwork from Toby that I need him to sign.", Jenna explained with a smile.

"Ah, I see. Well, good luck. It was good to see you again.", Mellisa bid farewell, stepping into the elevator. As the door closed behind her, Jenna looked to Jason, who was watching their exchange. He had the same gaze as Alison, Jenna dully noted.

"Jenna, welcome. Here about the lease?", Jason asked.

"Thank you, yes. I assume Toby called you?", Jenna answered, being led by the VP into his office.

"He left a message with Mallory.", Jason replied fleetingly. "Please, have a seat, make yourself comfortable. Tea, coffee?"

"No, thank you. I won't be here long. I just came to drop these off.", Jenna replied, standing on the other side of the desk as Jason walked around to his seat. Jenna didn't miss how he tossed a gold earring and a dark purple tie into his desk drawer, and held back a smirk. Well, well. It seemed there was some inter office mingling going on. 'If that's not a potential explosion, I don't know what it.'

"I apologize for the scene out there, Jenna. Ms. Hastings can be quite... trying.", Jason supplied, sitting in his office chair.

'I'm sure she can be...' "Don't worry. With you and Mellisa, it's to be expected.", Jenna laughed. "Besides, it's nice to see you get taken down a notch every once in a while."

Jason chuckled, but didn't comment. "So, your brother is really serious about buying the old house?"

"He is. He's coming home, finally.", Jenna answered.

"How long has he been gone? Ten years?"

"Fifteen."

"He's made quite the name for himself out in New York. Why would he want to come back?"

"Everyone he loves is here in Rosewood. This is home to him, no matter what else has happened.", Jenna told him.

"Home is where the heart is, I suppose. So you can understand why I'm reluctant in signing over the house to him. It's all I have left of Alison.", Jason answered.

"Selling the house to Toby won't change the fact that you loved your sister.", Jenna assured him.

"Maybe I didn't love her enough.", Jason replied softly. "Maybe if I hadn't been so focused on me, I could have helped her before she lost her mind... That's part of why I don't want to sell the house to Toby, Jenna. I don't want to lose that last piece of Alison, and to be perfectly honest, I'd watch the house burn to the ground before I saw your brother living in it."

"Jason-", Jenna began, and Jason held up his hand.

"I'm still selling Toby the house, Jenna. This is business, nothing more, nothing less.", Jason promised her. "I may not like it, but it's a good business decision, for both Toby and myself. I wouldn't gain anything by tearing it down and building another memorial. Chances are, it would end up like the last one did." Jason was no fool. He knew that there were more people in Rosewood who hated Alison than there were those who loved her.

"Thank you.", Jenna answered, feeling relief swamp her. That could have gone very badly.

"Now, shall I sign these and get them out of the way?", Jason asked. Jenna could read something in that voice, and didn't like where it could end up.

"Do what you like, I need to be going. I'm on my lunch break, and Emily's expecting me back sometime soon.", Jenna answered.

"Jenna, if I didn't know better...", Jason said slowly, scrawling his signature over the lease, thereby making it Toby's. "I'd say that you didn't want to be here with me."

"I have a job, Jason. Not everything is about you.", Jenna replied. It was a simple conversation, but Jenna knew it was anything but. She was playing with fire, and she needed to go before she got burned. "But I do need to get back to work, so just contact Toby when you have the lease looked over and approved."

Jenna turned around, away from the table, and was facing the door when she felt a warm hand slide around her wrist. Everything froze, and it felt like ice was going through her veins. "Jenna.", Jason's voice said quietly, the man himself walking around to the front of the desk. "You're shaking."

This was bad. Very, very bad. Jenna tried to avoid his eye contact, and realized that, though seventeen years had passed, Jason was still ridiculously attractive. Still forty miles of bad road, but nonetheless, attractive. She remembered back in high school, before the accident, when she'd had a crush on Jason. He was Alison's really hot older brother, he was a loner like her, genuinely nice, and had the IQ of a genius. What wasn't to like?

And now, all these years later, she's put face to face with the fact that her teenage crush wasn't as gone as she'd first believed. Wasn't that inconvenient.

"Don't be ridiculous. Now Jason, I really need to leave. Emily-"

"Stay." That one word had her tongue turning to lead in her mouth.

"What?"

"Stay.", Jason repeated.

"I- Emily-"

"Will understand. Call her, tell her you're going to be late.", Jason told her, putting his cell phone in her hand. She looked at it, then looked up at Jason. How had this happened? She'd been there to drop off paperwork, and now this?

She looked Jason right in the eye, and saw exactly what was going on behind those eyes. He wanted her. Not like Lucas wanted Hanna, or Alex wanted Spencer, and certainly not how Toby wanted Emily. There was nothing long term about the look in Jason's eye; whatever she let happen in his office would exist only within those walls. When she walked out, it would be like it never happened. Life would continue on as it had been.

If she was being honest with herself, she wanted to stay. Wanted to call Emily and tell her some story. She was caught in traffic, or her appointment had been lost and she needed to wait to see Jason. Emily would understand, she'd trust Jenna.

A part of her had wanted to be with Jason in high school, and this was her chance. But, it would be a one shot deal. He was frustrated, and as far as he knew, she was willing. Was she really willing to settle for less than what she wanted?

"Goodbye, Jason. Call Toby when you're done with the papers." No, no she wasn't.

Jenna was out the door, down the hall and in the elevator by the time Jason realized what had happened. She heard his door open and he called her name as the elevator doors slid shut behind her, blocking her from his line of sight. Jenna let out a shaky breath, her heart beating heavily in her chest and leaned against the wall as the elevator descended.

'So.', she thought, staring at her reflection in the mirror of the elevator. 'That was why Toby didn't want me to take the papers to Jason.' Toby had known how she felt about Jason, and had wanted to protect her. But, like most women when it comes to Toby's advice, she didn't listen. He didn't want her to get hurt, and he knew that Alison's brother, like Alison herself, could do nothing but hurt.

She reached into her bag and pulled out her sunglasses, sliding them over her eyes. They had become her security blanket, and she needed the shield they offered. Toby could never find out about what had almost happened. He'd fly off the deep end, might go after Jason for trying to hurt her. But she couldn't lie to Toby about it; they'd never lied to each other or kept secrets, even when they were sleeping together. She'd already have enough trouble looking Emily in the eye, she didn't want to think about how fast she'd cave and tell Toby what had happened.

The elevator 'ding'ed again and Jenna stepped out, hurrying out of the building. She walked down the flight of steps and once she reached the sidewalk, her breathing felt a little easier. As she made her way towards the car, she saw Mellisa sitting in a cafe, and the older Hastings' sister watched her. Jenna knew better than most what that stare meant. Her secret was out.

She kept her eyes on her car, and when she got in, she put her head against her steering wheel. Tears sprung to her eyes, but she refused to cry. Now she knew why Toby hadn't wanted her to see Jason, but she hadn't listened. Now Pandora's Box was open all over again, and she had in trouble.

**AN: ... Yeah. Lemme know what you think, guys. **

**Much love,  
Oracle. (L) **


	14. Saturday Pt 4 The boys are back in town

**AN: Hello, my lovelies. Sorry about the wait, I've been insanely busy and this chapter just didn't want to be written. =/ But, I won, and here's the final chapter in the Saturday arc. Sunday will be next, and here's a preview: Maya loses it, big time. Noal shows up. And Hanna is about as happy as a wet cat. **

**Also, is anyone else seriously pissed about the Hanna/ Caleb thing they've got going on? I mean, what? They build up Hanna/ Lucas for a season and a half, and when Sean finally, FINALLY, gets taken out, Lucas gets shoved to the side for this Caleb guy? Really? Bah! Oh, and don't even get me STARTED about the whole Spencer/Toby thing I've heard rumours of. No. I would never tell people which characters to ship, but for me personally? No. Just no. /end rant.**

**So, about this chapter, there's some Toby/Emily, which always makes me smile, and another example of just how damn sneaky Ella can be. Enjoy. =)**

**As always, if you recognize it, I don't own it.**

Emily walked in the front door of her parents' house that evening, exhausted. Doing six hours of back to back cardio workouts on a few hours sleep wasn't her brightest move ever, but she'd pushed through it. When she walked into the living room, she threw her workout bag on the couch and then joined it, hugging a throw pillow to her chest. It had been a long day, and Saturday wasn't even over yet.

From the pocket of her jeans, Emily could feel her phone vibrating, signalling that someone was calling her. She groaned, tempted to ignore it and sink into sleep, but then thought that it might be Hanna; her mom and Aria's dad had rushed by the shop in a fury and told Emily what Sean had come by to say. Emily had not been pleased, and Maya had needed to rush over to the near by coffee shop to get her something with caffeine in it before she tried to find Sean.

"Hello?", Emily asked, sounding sleepy even to her own ears.

"Emily?" The fitness instructor's eyes opened and she smiled at the voice.

"Toby! Hi, I wasn't expecting you to call.", Emily greeted, laying on the couch.

"Bad time?", Toby asked, though Emily could tell that he was smiling.

"No, not at all. Just got in the door, actually.", she answered. "How are you? How's New York?"

"New York is fine, same as it was when I left.", Toby replied. "And I'm alright, been busy at the gallery all day. You?"

"Fine. Exhausted, but fine. Had an intense cardio workout planned today that I completely forgot about. How's the gallery?"

"Still standing. I met the new management my agent hired, and they seem to know what they're doing. I'll still have the final say in pretty much everything, but I think I can leave my flagship gallery in their hands while I move back to Rosewood.", Toby explained. Emily had the thought that he was trying to convince both her and himself that he was coming back to stay.

"I'm sure it will be fine.", Emily assured him. "Have you spoken to anybody in town about gallery spaces yet?"

"A couple people, and I have a meeting with Alex Santiago when I get back to town."

"That's great!"

"Isn't it? Listen, Emily, I'm on my way out the door to go see my investors, but I wanted to ask you a couple of things." Emily heard the door slam shut behind him, and felt like a lead weight had just been dropped into her stomach.

"Sure, what's up?", Emily asked.

"This is going to sound strange, but did Jenna drop those papers off with Jason DiLaurentis this morning? The lease?"

"Yeah, she went on her lunch break. Why?"

"Was she acting any different when she got back to the studio?" Toby sounded deadly serious, and Emily rapidly thought back. Jenna hadn't really acted any different, she'd said her stomach was bothering her from too much cappuccino, but other than that, she'd been her usual self.

"No, not that I noticed. Is everything okay?"

"I'm not sure. I just got a call from Mellisa Hastings, she told me to keep an eye on Jason whenever he's near Jenna. Made me panic a little.", Toby admitted, sounding sheepish.

"I can go check on her if it would make you feel any better.", Emily offered.

"No, I'm sure it's nothing." He didn't sound convinced, but Emily wasn't about to call him on it. "I'm going to call her when I get back in from the meeting, but if I'm over reacting, I don't want her getting upset over nothing. I just figured that if anything had happened, you would have picked up on it, but I guess I'm just being paranoid."

Emily frowned, worrying her bottom lip between her teeth. Toby Cavanaugh's gut feelings were more reassuring to her than a police guard, and if it bothered him enough to make him call from New York, it had to be more than a case of paranoia. It just made Emily realize that even after 15 years apart, the step siblings still knew each other better than most. They were the best of friends, but romantically, as they knew from experience, they were a massive train wreck going somewhere to happen.

"If I hear anything, I'll let you know.", she promised, hoping to try and relieve some of the obvious anxiety. Why men had to try and hide when they were feeling nervous was beyond her.

"Thanks, Emily.", Toby responded, and the smile was back in his voice. "There was one more thing I wanted to talk to you about."

"What is it?"

"You still owe me a dinner date, remember?" Emily blushed, profoundly thankful that he wasn't there to see it.

"I remember something of the sort.", she replied.

"Well, I have an idea that might be worth considering."

"You have my undivided attention.", Emily promised.

She could have sworn she heard a muttered, 'Only took me seventeen years', but didn't comment. "There's going to be a fireworks display in town this week, down by the harbor. If you're not doing anything, we could make a day of it. Movie, dinner, fireworks."

"I'd love to.", she told him quickly, a smile plastering across her face. "You let me know what day it is and I'll make the reservations. Is the Grill okay?"

"The Grill is great. So, how was your day?"

"Shouldn't you be on your way to an investor's meeting?", Emily teased, getting off the couch and walking to the kitchen door.

"They can wait. So?", Toby replied with a laugh.

"My day was good. I went to the studio and did cardio boot camp for a couple hours, went for lunch with Jenna and Spence-"

"Ouch."

"Shush, you. They actually get along to a certain degree now.", Emily chided, grinning. "My mom called, she and my dad are coming home tomorrow afternoon. And I'm waiting to hear about Hanna's reaction to Sean's latest stunt."

"What has he done?", Toby asked.

"Set Hanna up, while she's away on her anniversary trip with Lucas.", Emily replied, diving into an explanation of Sean's latest attempt to ruin Hanna and Lucas.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Ella was sitting on the steps of her studio, flicking through her emails on her phone. She glanced at her wristwatch , checking the time for the fourth time in the seven minutes she'd been sitting on her front apartment steps.

'Where is he?', Ella wondered. She jumped when a car pulled into the driveway, and the driver honked at her. The teacher/ gallery owner grinned and stood up, waving to the driver. When the car pulled to a stop, she walked over to the driver side door.

"I was just beginning to wonder where you were. Did you get lost?", Ella commented as the door swung open. The driver let out a laugh as he stepped out of his beat up car.

"I haven't been gone that long. Decided to take a trip around town, see how much has changed.", Ezra Fitz answered, closing the door behind him.

"And what did you think?", Ella asked.

"I feel like I just left yesterday. Hasn't changed.", Ezra replied. "I really appreciate you letting me stay here while I look for an apartment, Ella."

"I wasn't about to let a friend stay in a hotel when I had a perfectly good place. It's good to have you back, Ezra.", Ella assured him, getting a hug from the graying teacher. "How was your trip here?"

"Not bad. Had to pull over twice because I thought I felt a panic attack coming on, but I got here in one piece.", Ezra replied with a nervous smile as he hauled his duffel bags up the stairs of Ella's studio.

"Stop worrying, everything will be okay.", Ella promised him, then turned to find Ezra looking at a picture of Aria, Mike and Ellie that hung on Ella's wall. "That's Ellie, last Christmas."

"She looks exactly like Aria.", he commented. "How old is she now? 12?"

"Turning 13 tomorrow, and yes she does. Are you sure you're going to be able to handle this?", Ella asked softly. She knew how much her friend loved her daughter, and while it had pissed her off beyond all reason when she first found out that her daughter had been dating a teacher in high school, she'd eventually accepted it. She'd always known Aria was far too mature for her age, she just hadn't imagined that it would show up in such a way. The fact that she'd smacked Ezra upside the head with a textbook when she first found out went without mentioning.

"That's what I'm going to find out, isn't it?", Ezra sighed. "Does she know I'm coming back?"

"No, I promised I wouldn't tell her.", Ella answered. "But, I did tell Byron."

"And he probably wants me run out of town on a rail.", Ezra assumed.

"He was less than thrilled.", Ella told him diplomatically, wondering just how much she should tell him. "He's afraid that you're going to break Aria's heart again. She's gone through enough."

"You know I would never hurt Aria, or Ellie.", Ezra told her firmly. Since the day he found out that Aria was pregnant, Aria and Ellie had been a pair in his mind, and every time he thought of the life he wanted, the two of them were there. He'd wanted to kill Noal for leaving her after Ellie was born, and it was only Ella's pleas that kept him from rushing back to Rosewood to do something, anything, to help Aria through that tough time.

"That's my main concern. Ellie is just like her mother, she's way too mature for her age and she's very sensitive. If you go through with this and get Aria back, Ellie is a part of that package, Ezra. If Aria gets hurt, Ellie will be crushed, and then Byron won't be the only one wanting you run out of town on a rail."

"I wouldn't be here if I didn't understand that. I want her back, Ella."

"I know. And whether she accepts it or not, I'd bet every last dollar I have in the bank that Aria misses you.", Ella guessed. "But getting her back is going to take work."

"I didn't pack up my entire life and come back here because I thought it was going to be easy.", Ezra laughed cynically, his shoulders lax and his hands in his pockets.

"You okay?"

Ezra sighed, brushing back his graying hair. "Thinking about Ellie. If I hadn't left... I wish she was mine.", Ezra said sadly, looking at Aria's smiling face as she sat behind Ellie, her arms wrapped around her daughter's shoulders. "If I hadn't run to Delaware, I might have been able to stop her from going back to Noal. Ellie might be my daughter, not his."

"And you might have been arrested, Ezra.", Ella reminded him gently. "You left because it was the only option you had. Things happened like they were supposed to. Yes, losing you hurt her deeply, but having Ellie brought passion back into Aria's life. Before, she was drifting, but as soon as she found out she was pregnant, it was like the fire in her was re-lit. Right now, she's in a place where I think she could handle a relationship between you two again."

"Ella, tell me honestly. Do I have a chance of getting her back?", Ezra asked. "Am I just wasting my time chasing a dream?"

"You have a very real chance. But, you need to take things slow. You can't just show up at her front door and say, 'Honey, I'm home!'.", Ella told him. "And I think I have a way for you to start things off."

"I'm open to suggestions."

"You start at Rosewood Day on Monday, right?" What classes are you teaching?"

"Yeah, nine o'clock in the morning, and grade nine English. Why?"

"Ellie is starting grade nine on Monday, and I just so happen to have a copy of her schedule. Perks of being the cool grandma to a very studious twelve year old.", Ella answered, picking a piece of paper up from the near by table and handing it to Ezra.

The teacher scanned the paper, his eyes going wide. "I have Ellie in my class. Ella, you're not thinking what I think you are?"

"I'm not thinking anything, I'm just giving you the pieces. It's up to you what you do with them."

"Ella, I'm not manipulating Ellie so I can see Aria. That's wrong on so many levels.", Ezra protested.

"I never said anything about manipulating Ellie. Ezra, you're a good teacher, and Ellie should prove to be a tough student. The written word isn't her best friend.", Ella told him.

"Aria must have been disappointed.", Ezra commented with a smile.

"She was, but Ellie's a fantastic artist. And anyway, I'm sure you'll be seeng Aria sooner or later, her classroom is two down from yours.", Ella replied blithely, and Ezra almost choked.

**AN: Welcome back, Ezra. We've missed you. **

**Thoughts? Comments on the latest episode? Opinions? Criticisms? Lemme know, and please enjoy your Thursday, everyone.**

**Much love and thank you for reading,  
Oracle. (L) **


	15. Saturday Pt 5 Calm before the storm

**AN:**

**... I wonder if anybody is still reading this... A whole year later... Oops?**

**Two things: **

**1) As of right now, I declare this story to be OFFICIALLY AU. As in, it will not follow the plot line of the show, mainly because I haven't been following the show and I don't really care to follow it because they've destroyed everything I ever loved about it (apparently including Ezria), so to hell with it. AU. Officially. Anything that happened after the second half of season one is non-applicable, and unless something strikes me down, this will find a conclusion, and it will be one of my own design. **

**2) This story is ET (EmilyToby)/ SA (SpencerAlex)/ HL (HannaLucas)/ AE (AriaEzra as endgame), and some other pairings thrown in because they amuse me and make me happy. Emily and Maya did date, they were in love, but things changed as they often do in life and they are just friends now, and Maya will find love in an entirely new place in this story. Goes back to point 1. **

**I appreciate people reading this and taking the time to comment on it, seriously, it means the world to me, but derogatory comments about the pairings of this story - Which I have not hidden at any point - will be ignored, and the story will progress on as planned. There are a few people who have expressed interest in the revival of this story, and I finally found my mojo to continue it, so here it is. **

**I'm sorry if I seem harsh, I just want to be really, really clear about this. This story is AU, so anything can happen, and anyone can be with anybody. Enough said. Now, this chapter is about some interaction between Emily and Maya, and some reaction from Hanna as to Sean's latest fuckery. Enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing except the laptop I write this on. I'm using characters owned by someone else for my own amusement, and am making nothing off of this. **

Emily laughed quietly to herself as she hung up her cell phone, then got up from the couch. Toby had called her back after his investor's meeting, telling her that he was pretty sure one of his investors was hitting on him. He sounded vaguely creeped out, but Emily just laughed and asked how the meeting went.

'Uneventful', he answered. 'They told me their projected figures, I broke the news to them that I wasn't coming back to New York when the new gallery opened up in Rosewood, and they had the expected reaction.'

'I take it they weren't pleased?', Emily had asked, smiling as she moved around her parents' living room tidying up.

'I thought one of them was going to pass out when they heard about it, but once they got over the shock, they reacted fairly well.', Toby answered with a laugh.

The majority of the conversation consisted of much of the same – Emily telling Toby that Hanna had been notified of Sean's latest move and was, reportedly, mad as a hornet and on her way back to Rosewood to rip out Sean's spleen – Her words, and Toby voicing his concerns over his step sister who had yet to call him back since that morning. Emily tried her best to assure him that everything would be fine, but made a mental note to go and check in on Jenna that evening. Toby's instincts were hardly ever wrong, and if it was bothering him hours later, Emily knew it wasn't just a case of brotherly paranoia.

Eventually though, Toby needed to get back to his apartment and finish the last of his packing, so he and Emily said good bye and promised to talk later that night, with Toby hinting that he had an idea for their dinner arrangement later that week. Emily blushed, again thankful that he couldn't see it, and said she looked forward to it, then hung up the phone and set it on the coffee table.

The instructor walked into the kitchen with a spring in her step and hummed to herself as she checked the cupboards, looking for something to make for dinner. She was so deep in her daydream that she didn't notice the knocking at the back kitchen door, or the door opening quietly. She was equally oblivious to someone calling to her, but jumped what felt like a country mile into the air when a light hand tapped her shoulder.

She let out a half shriek and turned to see Maya standing behind her, laughing hysterically at the fright on Emily's face. "Jesus, Maya! You scared the life out of me!", Emily gasped, putting a hand to her chest as she leaned against the kitchen counter to regain her breath.

"I'm so sorry, Emily.", Maya laughed. "I did call you, and I knocked but you didn't hear me. Wow, I didn't think I'd scare you that badly."

"I think you took a couple years off my life.", Emily chuckled, then wiped her eyes. There was a time when someone sneaking up behind her would have set her internal radar to screaming, but it seemed that the years without A had lulled her into a sense of security. She laughed silently to herself; the things A could have done to hurt her when her back was turned just then… It was scary to think about.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to. You gonna be okay there, champ?", Maya asked.

"Fine, when my heart gets out of my throat. What are you doing here anyway? I thought you were working today."

A nervous look crossed Maya's face, and Emily's back went up. She knew that look, and her mind instantly shot to Ben. _Ben is in Chicago_, she reminded herself. _He's in Chicago, he can't hurt you._ The previous night's altercation sprung to mind, and she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Aria came into my shop today, Emily, and she was ticked.", Maya explained, and Emily knew what had happened. Aria on a bad day was dangerous enough; A sleep deprived Aria who's pissed and worried for her friend's safety was even worse.

"She told you.", Emily surmised.

"She did, but I want to know why you didn't tell me. Emily, I don't know what Ben was thinking. As soon as Aria left the shop, I called Ben and asked what he thought he was doing, coming here and scaring you. He said he was drunk and doesn't remember most of it, but he's so sorry for whatever it was that he said that upset you so much. He wants to make it up to you when he gets back.", Maya explained, frowning at the mention of her boyfriend.

Everything in Emily wanted to scream 'Absolutely NOT!' all at once, but she bit her tongue. She remembered the night before, Ben wasn't drunk, he knew what he was saying and doing. And Maya obviously didn't know about their actual history, or Emily was sure she'd be in her car and half way to Chicago to find Ben and beat the tar out of him (She had a scary good punch; Emily would know).

A nagging voice in the back of Emily's mind was pushing at her to tell Maya about what Ben had done in high school. It had been years ago, but attempted rape was still attempted rape, no matter what age it was committed, and if Maya had somehow managed to live in Rosewood for this long and not hear about it, clearly someone was trying very hard to keep it that way. Her money was on Ben, and probably with quite a bit of help from Sean.

"It's okay, Maya. He didn't really say anything that scared me, it was just the way he was acting. It –" Emily faltered. It scared her, and made her think she was back in high school with A lurking around every corner. "It made me remember the whole A thing, and that's not something I want to think about if I can help it."

Maya's eyes softened, and she reached out a hand to touch Emily's arm. "I still wish you'd told me about that in high school. I could have helped, Emily. I could have done something to make that psycho go away."

Emily laughed quietly. "Maya, I loved you in high school. If I'd told you about A, you'd have become a target. I didn't want to put you in danger.", she explained. Keeping Maya and her friends safe had been her priority in high school; A would not threaten her family if as she could help it. She, Spencer, Hanna and Aria could protect each other, they knew the danger. Maya didn't, so she wasn't at risk.

"I loved you too, that's why I hated seeing you so stressed and afraid all the time. Emily, promise me you won't keep a secret like that from me again?", Maya asked, and Emily's head rose to look at her. "We're not in high school anymore, and even after the nasty break up, we're friends. If something like that, or even something minor happens, tell me, let me in so I can do whatever I can to help."

"I will, I promise.", Emily answered. A was gone, the entire town knew every skeleton she had in her closet and she and her friends had still managed to survive. She looked at Maya and remembered the bruise on her leg. "But, I want you to make me the same promise, Maya. If anything happens, anything at all, promise to come to me and tell me about it so I can help. This friendship thing works both ways, you know."

"I think that's a promise I can safely keep.", Maya said with a laugh, and the two hugged. There was something calming, Emily thought, about being friends with someone you'd once been in love with. They'd seen you at your worst and at your best – and Maya had certainly seen her at both – and still wanted to be in your life. Emily let go of Maya and smiled, and Maya said, "Well, now that the chick flick moment is over, come on, I've heard there's some gossip going around town that you have the inside scoop on, Ms. Fields."

Emily laughed and stepped back, leaning against the counter again. "And what gossip is that?"

"I heard from a friend of fiend – the fiend being Mona and the friend being one of her followers that comes into my shop every so often - that Hanna and Lucas' anniversary weekend has gone all screwy because of Sean? What happened?", Mona asked, pulling out one of the chairs at the dining room table.

Emily sighed and flicked her ponytail over her shoulder. "That. We're not exactly sure how he did it, but Sean's managed to once again make Hanna's life difficult. He's done something to the paperwork she needs for her clinic's property permits and she needs to come back into town before Sunday night to sign the paperwork and get it to City Hall or she could lose the clinic."

"That asshole. Is there anything I can do? I know a couple people on the city council, they review that stuff. I can try to call in a favour or two and get her an extended deadline?", Maya offered. Maya and Hanna had had a special understanding in high school; Hanna was one of the first to find out about Emily's sexuality, and she'd been one of the most stalwart supporters of her from the get-go. Even though things ended, it had formed a deep bond between the two women that resulted in a healthy friendship that had survived to that day.

"Thanks, Maya. I'm sure Hanna would definitely appreciate it when she gets back. Her and Lucas got the news this morning, so I think they're on their way back to town now.", Emily agreed.

"No problem. But damn, pretty sure that girl is gonna need a lot of yoga and a punching bag to keep from killing Sean for this.", Maya whistled.

"I've already got one set aside strictly for her when she gets back, and a lot of yoga time with me, Spence and Aria.", Emily agreed. It wouldn't be enough and she knew that, but it was all she could do, and if it was for her friend, she would do it.

XXXXXX

Lucas watched as Hanna cursed up a storm while she double checked their packing. Since Ashley's call that morning, the blonde bombshell had been a force to be reckoned with, and heaven help the person who mentioned the name Sean around her. She'd called Spencer and Aria, and left a message on Emily's phone when she couldn't reach her, and Lucas knew Sean would be face to face with four very irate females when they got back to town. If he hadn't been so god damn angry at Sean for screwing up their weekend away, he might have been able to find it in himself to pity the police chief. As it was, he was just hoping they hid their tracks well enough to get away with the murder.

Lucas had done what he could to calm her down, handling most of the packing while Hanna called around town leaving messages with everyone she could think of to try to find a way to reverse Sean's actions, coming up empty in most places, and the tiny box he'd carried with him the entire weekend sat heavy in his pocket.

As the last of the suitcases were lined up near the door, Lucas felt two arms wrap around his chest and stood up, twining his fingers through Hanna's.

"I hate him.", Hanna muttered, and she sounded near tears. Lucas turned and put both arms around her, placing a kiss to her forehead. Hanna locked her arms around his waist and put her face on his chest.

"Whatever he did, we'll fix it.", Lucas promised, kissing the top of her head. Whether or not he'd punch Sean in the face when they got back to Rosewood was a different story entirely.

"Why can't he just be happy that we're happy? Why does he have to be such a jerk?", Hanna asked.

"I don't think guys like Sean are happy unless they have something to complain about, Han. And I think it finally hit him that he's lost you for good.", Lucas answered. "Hell, that would probably throw me a little off the deep end too."

Hanna laughed, and it killed him to hear her voice choked with tears. "I don't want to go back and face this. Can't we just stay here?"

The box in his pocket seemed to burn, but Lucas just smiled. "Han, as much as I'd love it, we've gotta go back. That clinic is your life."

"I know.", Hanna sighed, stepping away from him. She kissed his cheek and smiled at him. "What would I do without you, Lucas?"

"Honestly, for Sean's health and wellbeing, I'm afraid to find out.", Lucas laughed, and Hanna joined in. Lucas stepped to the door and picked up two of the cases. "Well, no use putting off the inevitable. Let's get this to the car and get going."

"If we must.", Hanna agreed, then picked up her purse and their coats. "Thank you for this weekend, Lucas. I loved every minute of it."

"We'll do it again sometime, hopefully when Sean is either dead or struck with sudden amnesia so he doesn't ruin it again.", Lucas replied. He took the suitcases out to their car and tossed Hanna their room key. "Can you run this back to the office, Han? I'll put this stuff away."

"Sure thing." Hanna put the coats inside the car then walked to the office, leaving Lucas to watch her go.

Lucas sighed as he set the suitcases inside the trunk of the car, then pulled the box from his pant pocket. He opened it, and a tear cut diamond ring sparkled back at him from the black velvet. The ring he'd spent hours searching for, eventually needing to design it because none of the ones he'd seen had said _Hanna _to him.

He'd planned the entire weekend with the end goal of asking Hanna to make him the happiest man in Rosewood – he'd even go so far as to argue the continental United States – and marry him. That went up in smoke with one phone call from Ashley Marin, who'd known he was going to ask her daughter to marry him and had sounded genuinely distraught when she had to be the bearer of such awful news.

He heard the door to the office close and sighed again, then tossed the case into the trunk. He turned just in time to see Hanna join him, and laced their fingers together. "Let's get going before I change my mind about hitting the road and never looking back.", Lucas said to her and the two walked to the driver and passenger sides of the car.

Lucas thought back to the ring as he started the car and Hanna buckled in. Sean had won this battle, but he wouldn't win the war. There would be another time to ask Hanna to marry him, Lucas just had to make sure it was the right one.

**AN: That's all she wrote.**

** Welcome back to 'Hopeless'. Next time, we're embarking on the Sunday chapters, which means a brief glimpse of Ezra, Toby learning about Jenna's run in with Jason, and Ellie's birthday party that doesn't go according to plan. **

**See you next time. **

**Much love,  
Oracle. **


	16. Sunday Pt 1 Rain is falling

**AN: Hi. =) **

**Another chapter for you lovely people, this time focusing on my girl, Jenna, with some exposition on her mom (Toby's stepmom in this story), as well as some of the fallout from Jason's earlier actions towards Jenna. Toby is not pleased. **

**Thanks to EmilySheeganLuver for your review! I was having such a bad night (as you might have been able to tell from the ANs), and your review made me smile like a loon for a good half hour. The EmilyToby moments are coming, there's just a little bit more build up to go. =) **

**That's it, I hope you guys enjoy this latest chapter! **

Jenna was still disoriented from sleep when her cell phone's ringtone pulled her rudely into consciousness. She grumbled into her pillow and blindly reached for the ringing object, her fingers closing around it. She blearily looked up, and when she saw the name J. DiLaurentis on her Called ID, she was awake as quickly as if she'd been doused with cold water.

She sat up in her bed, just staring at the phone in her hand, and only realized she was holding her breath when she saw the screen go black and tell her she had one missed call. Jenna dropped the phone like it burned her and left it buried in her blankets as she got out of bed and put on her glasses.

What in the _hell _was Jason DiLaurentis doing calling her at – she glanced at the bedside clock – nine o'clock on a Sunday morning? She didn't even have to be awake until ten, the studio didn't open until eleven and Emily wouldn't be there to open up until nine thirty. She knew for a fact that Smithton, Hastings and Co. didn't open until noon on Sundays, so why was Jason even awake, and why was his seemingly first action of the day calling her?

It wasn't even noon yet, and already Jenna's head hurt. She did everything she could to keep herself from thinking of what had happened the day before then jumped when her phone began ringing, and she dreaded picking it up, fearing to see Jason's name again.

She looked at the screen. Toby. That wasn't much better since she'd been avoiding his calls as studiously as she'd been avoiding Jason's. However, unlike Jason's, she couldn't ignore Toby's calls. Her step brother was annoyingly persistent and when he was worried about someone, he was something of a bloodhound. She'd already 'missed' five of his calls, and the voicemails he'd left told her he wasn't happy about being ignored, so she knew she couldn't fake missing this one. Damn him for knowing she was a light sleeper.

"Good morning, brother dearest. To what do I owe the honour of a call this early on a Sunday morning?", Jenna sighed, pulling on a house coat and knowing she wasn't going to get back to sleep anytime soon. Her nerves felt like they were on fire as she walked past her parents' room and she heard her mom reading, the only giveaway the sound of the pages turning in whatever book she was reading. Jenna made a note to go in and say good morning after putting the coffee on, and then focused back on Toby.

"I figured you would be asleep so you couldn't dodge this phone call.", Toby replied bluntly, and even though Jenna expected it, she flinched. She walked past the living room where her stepfather sat, just back from his usual morning run. She waved and mouthed 'Toby' as she passed, and he raised a hand in greeting as he pulled off his running shoes.

"Toby, cut the detective routine, will you? I just got out of bed when the phone rang. Don't make me hang up on you.", Jenna warned somewhat snappishly as she prepared the coffee.

"You're never up this early on a Sunday, and the studio doesn't open until eleven. So why are you awake this early, dear sister?" Damn him, damn him, damn him! Jenna felt like her teeth were grinding and she fought to calmly exhale.

"I couldn't sleep. I had this feeling that my annoying step brother would be calling to bother me.", she hissed. "How's New York? Are you almost ready to come back?" God help her when she had to live in the same house with him again; she'd never get a moment's peace.

She could hear Toby chuckle. "I just finished loading the rest of my stuff into a van, I'll be back in town by six o'clock tonight, traffic depending. Emily told me Ellie's birthday is today, and her party is this coming Friday, isn't it?"

"That's right, Friday night. Which means you have plenty of time to get her something, so don't expect me to step in and save you this time.", Jenna warned. That was how it always happened whenever their mom's birthday came up. Whether it was because Jason called or because she was up earlier than she wanted to be, she felt snappish and had to force herself to not slam her coffee cup on the counter.

"I think I can handle it.", Toby promised, but Jenna kind of doubted it and resigned herself to a Thursday of panicked shopping after work.

"You could always ask Emily what she's getting Ellie. I think she, Spencer, Aria and maybe Hanna are going shopping for her present after work today.", Jenna thought. "And before you ask, I got her a new charcoal set."

"Duly noted. I'll call Emily when I get into town tonight, I've got pretty much everything here packed up. Now just waiting for the landlord to come collect the keys. That reminds me, any way I could talk you into helping me clean out the garage when I get back? I'm fully prepared to provide coffee and food."

Jenna laughed. "I think that can be arranged.", she answered. "So why are you awake this early, Toby?"

"I was worried about my favourite step sister.", Toby answered. "Jenna, I called you at least five times yesterday and you ignored all of them."

"I was busy, Toby. I'm sorry my life doesn't revolve around you."

"I know it doesn't, Jenna, but I was worried. I got a call from Melissa Hastings yesterday-" Jenna dropped the coffee cup she was holding in shock. She just stared at the shattered ceramic as she heard Toby calling to her, and jumped when her stepfather came up behind her and asked if she was alright. She smiled weakly and said it slipped, and he went to work in cleaning up the broken pieces. "Jenna? What was that? Are you okay?"

"Why was Melissa calling you, Toby?", Jenna asked, and she didn't even need to be told that her voice was shaking.

"She told me to keep an eye on Jason whenever he was near you. Jenna, what happened?" Jenna sat down at the kitchen table and put a hand to her head. Leave it to Melissa. She let out a shaky breath.

"Toby, Jason-" Jason what? How did you even begin to explain that they'd had a conversation –and that was all it was, a simple exchange of words. He hadn't even tried to kiss her or anything – that made her sit in her car and cry because it had shaken her so badly? "You were right, Toby. I shouldn't have delivered the lease Jason. I should have just faxed it to him or something."

She heard Toby go quiet, then heard him exhale. "That son of a bitch. He and I will have words when I get home. Jenna, do not go near him again, alright? Wait until I get home and we'll go face him together if you want, but do not go near him alone again."

"Toby, he didn't do anything. It was just… unnerving.", Jenna explained. Unnerving to see feelings you'd had in high school reflected back at you when you least expected it.

"He scared you, Jenna.", Toby told her firmly, sounding more outraged every minute. "He used our business deal to get near you, and he scared my sister to get back at me. He's not going to get away with that."

"Toby, just let me handle this, okay?", Jenna sighed. She already knew Toby would be on the warpath when he returned, but then again, she'd expected that.

"We will be talking about this when I get home, Jenna.", Toby warned and Jenna rolled her eyes.

"Yes, dad. Is there anything else you wanted to talk about, because I do have a job to get ready for?", Jenna asked.

"Just… Be careful, Jenna.", Toby answered. "I know you can handle yourself but Jason is trouble."

Jenna smiled. For all their faults and their train wreck history, Jenna knew that if everything went to hell tomorrow, she could always count on Toby to have her back. Even when she'd tried to ruin him in high school because she was out of her mind with jealousy, he'd always protect her. "I will, promise. Thanks for worrying about me, Toby."

"What are big brothers for?", Toby asked with a laugh. "Now get ready or you're gonna be late and Emily will blame me."

"Will do. You finish packing and get home soon, okay? As much as you annoy me sometimes, I miss you, Toby. I'm glad you're coming home for good.", Jenna admitted.

"I miss you too, Jen. It was only a matter of time, I guess. I don't think anybody really escapes Rosewood.", Toby chuckled. "Tell mom and dad I called and that I'll see you all when I get back. And tell Emily that I'll call her tonight."

"Sure will. Drive safe.", Jenna answered, then they said their goodbyes and hung up. Jenna looked at the phone for a moment, then chewed her bottom lip for a moment. She knew it was only a matter of time before Toby's temper kicked up again, and by then, she actually felt sorry for Jason.

She was startled out of her musings when the front doorbell chimed, and she heard her stepdad walk to the door. She heard a voice she didn't recognize, then heard her stepdad say, "Jenna, delivery for you!"

"Coming!", Jenna replied then walked out into the living room. A delivery person stood in the doorway holding a bouquet of yellow Cosmos flowers and bright red and orange Camellias. The warm colours seemed to explode from the white wrapping, and she carefully took them into her arms. "Oh my goodness. Where did these come from?"

"A special delivery from a Mr. J. DiLaurentis.", her stepdad said, reading the pale pink yellow card that had been attached. The flattery that had been bubbling in Jenna's chest turned to acid, and she felt like she wanted to be sick as she looked at the flowers.

"How nice of him.", was all Jenna could think of as an answer. She smiled at the delivery person and hoped she wasn't as pale as she thought she was. "Thanks for bringing them, do I need to sign?"

"No, that's fine. My boss said she knew who sent them and who they were going to. Have a nice day, Ms. Marshall.", the delivery person replied then nodded and walked back to the delivery truck bearing the name 'St. Germain's Garden'.

"Well, well. What brought this on?", her stepdad asked, looking at the flowers. Jenna kind of wanted to stuff them in the garbage disposal just to be rid of them, but figured that would draw more questions she didn't want to answer.

"I have no idea. You know the DiLaurentis family.", Jenna shrugged. "They are beautiful though. I'll be sure to call him and thank him personally." Maybe when Hell froze over.

"That's my girl." Not for the first time, she was glad her mom had found a good man to marry. Toby's father had accepted her as his daughter from the get-go, which had kind of freaked her out as a teenager but she valued it so much now as an adult. "Why don't you go help your mom downstairs and I'll get started on breakfast? You don't need to be in until 10:30, isn't that right?"

"That's right. Sounds good, would you mind putting these in the kitchen for me? They'll brighten mom up anyway.", Jenna asked, handing him the flowers.

Jenna walked up the stairs to her parents' room and knocked gently on the door. "Mom?", Jenna asked, opening the door. Allishia Cavanaugh looked up from the book she was reading and smiled at her daughter.

"Good morning, honey. Was that your brother I heard you talking to on the phone?", she asked. Allishia Cavanaugh had once been the most beautiful woman Jenna had ever seen, and she was still one of the most beautiful in the entire town, but the disease – not cancer, but it might as well have been – had stripped her of most of the strength she'd had. It had come on her suddenly one day when she was at Ella Montgomery's gallery, and to that day Jenna was thankful that Ella was there to take her mother to the hospital.

The disease made her pale, there were days when she couldn't move for the pain it caused her, and the headaches were bad enough that she needed the windows in her room blocked. Jenna had just started working at Emily's new studio when she got the call from her father that her mother had been rushed to the hospital after fainting at Ella's gallery, and it had been on her insistence that her father call Toby and ask him to come back. Her father and her brother hadn't spoken since Toby left town, her stepfather furious that Toby would just up and leave without a word to anyone, essentially abandoning his family.

Jenna understood, but as she'd told her stepfather, they couldn't take care of her mom on their own. They needed the help, and she knew that however much he hated Rosewood, Toby would come home if he knew they needed him. And she'd been right. It took a week longer than she thought it would, but Toby roared into town on his motorcycle with a suitcase strapped on the back, and until that weekend, he hadn't left since.

Their mother had been ecstatic and welcomed him home with arms wide open, but their father had been less enthused. He was instantly protective of his wife, seeing how thrilled she was seeing her stepson home and knowing that if he just got up and left again, it might kill her. Their father wasn't stupid, he knew why Toby had left and he knew that Emily Fields had just come back into town, so it was foolish to think the two wouldn't meet again. Toby just looked at him and said he was home for good, Emily or no Emily, and not another word was said about it. Men. Honestly.

Jenna nodded and walked over to her mom's bedside, then pressed a kiss to her forehead. "Good morning, and yeah, that was that dear brother of mine. He's coming home tonight, by the way.", Jenna answered.

A bright smile lit up Allishia's face. "Oh, good. We'll have to make sure your dad makes something special to welcome him home, God only knows what he'll eat between now and then." Jenna laughed.

"You can talk to dad about that once I get you downstairs. He's making breakfast just now.", Jenna answered, then stood up. "Well, let's get you up and out of bed, mom. How's your book coming?"

Allisha laughed as she gently sat up, a wince of pain on her face as she moved. "Good, I was rather surprised. It's just getting to the good part now, though. I should be finished it by the time Toby gets home tonight.", she answered and carefully swung her legs over the side of the bed. Jenna slid her slippers onto her feet and took a light hold of her mom's arm as she stood up, then handed her her deep blue housecoat.

"Well, don't strain your eyes, mom. We don't need you being in bed with a headache when Toby gets home, now do we?", Jenna asked with a smile as she and her mom walked out of her parent' room.

"You worry too much, dear. I'll be fine.", Allishia insisted. "Did I hear the doorbell ring a while ago?"

Jenna winced, her arm looped around her mother's as they walked. "Yeah, there was a delivery at the door. Someone sent me flowers.", she answered reluctantly. She knew her mom was concerned that she didn't date, but Jenna just couldn't find the time to find someone to date. Not to mention everyone in town knew about her and Toby, which kind of limited the dating pool.

Allishia laughed again. "A secret admirer, dear?"

For a second, Jenna remembered the A disaster that had plagued Emily and her friends during high school. Secret _anythings_ in Rosewood never boded well, especially when those secret things were associated with Alison DiLaurentis.

"Not exactly, mom. You remember Jason DiLaurentis?", Jenna asked, knowing that sooner or later, the word would get out that Jason had sent her flowers, so it was better to get it out of the way now.

"Unfortunately.", Allishia said with a frown. She'd forbidden the mention of the DiLaurentis family in the Cavanaugh household after it came out that Alison had not only caused the explosion that blinded her only daughter, but had blackmailed Toby into taking the blame for it. The only reason that Emily, Aria, Spencer and Hanna were able to be talked about in the house was because Allishia knew how Toby felt about Emily, and because Ella had saved her life.

"I dropped off Toby's lease with him the other day, and I guess he decided to send me flowers."

"That's strange.", her mom commented as they made their way down the stairs, and Jenna wanted to laugh. Strange didn't even begin to cover this scenario. "What are you going to do about this?"

"Ignore it?", Jenna suggested, the two reaching the first floor landing and walking to the kitchen. "I don't see that anything needs to be done. They're just flowers."

"Hm. You could be right, dear." Her mom didn't look convinced, but smiled when her husband came over and gave her a good morning kiss. Her stepdad took her mom's arm and slowly led her over to the table where a coffee was waiting. Jenna stood in the doorway, the bright orange and reds of the bouquet catching her attention out of the corner of her eye.

"Oh, Jenna. I think I heard your phone go off.", her step dad commented, and Jenna walked over to where her phone lay. She flicked it open and saw a text message from the name J. DiLaurentis, and her stomach dropped.

'I didn't know what your favourite flowers were, so I got the ones I thought you would like the best. Don't run away from me, Jenna. Come by the office today, we need to talk.', the text read.

"Jenna? Honey, your coffee is getting cold.", her mom called to her. Jenna clicked 'delete', then shut her phone. She would not play Jason's game, not this time.

**AN: I think Jenna's mom is going to turn out to be a BAMF. And you can bet that deleting that text message is going to come back to bite Jenna sooner or later. **

**Til next time, loves! Thanks for reading! **

**Much love,  
Oracle. **


	17. Sunday Pt 2 Stronger

**AN: ... I can't stop writing. The story keeps unfolding in my head, and my hands just keep writing. It's not a bad thing, but I do have other things to be doing right now. Like school work, for example. **

**Anyway! Hi, everyone! Here's another instalment of the Sunday chapters of Hopeless, where Sean is a dick, Hanna brings her claws out to defend Aria and Ellie, and where once again, Ella is very, very sneaky. And Ezra makes an appearance, which always makes me happy. **

**I think that's about it... Thank you to liferscove2118, pinkcrazyness, EmilySheeganLuver, and crazzybookworm for reviewing the last two chapters. =) Your reviews made me smile, and I'll be replying to them in due time. I hope this new chapter doesn't disappoint you! =)**

**Enjoy, everyone! Disclaimer: I own nothing, I'm just writing this for my amusement and the amusement of others. **

Hanna Marin stood in her clinic, the sign on the door reading 'Closed for the day', and had to remind herself to keep breathing. She and Lucas had arrived back in town late the night before, and even though she'd been exhausted, she couldn't sleep. Her mind was spinning and she was terrified; what if she lost the clinic because of Sean?

Lucas, to his credit, stayed up the entire night with her, reassuring her that she wouldn't lose the clinic and that they would find a way to stop Sean. Everything would be fine, he insisted. She wanted to believe him, she'd dealt with worse, but still the anxiety gnawed in her stomach. That morning, Lucas drove her into work early and sat by her side as she called Sean from the car, telling him that she was back in town and would be at the clinic so he could stop by and explain to her exactly what had happened with her paperwork and how they could fix it. She'd snickered when she heard Sean grumble as she told him that she and Lucas had had a wonderful time at the B and B for their anniversary, and would definitely be going back. It was petty, but it made her feel slightly better.

A knock came to the door. She turned to find Sean standing on the other side of the glass, and Hanna half wanted to open the door and hit him right in the face. Instead, she opened the door calmly and said, "Sean, come on it. The sooner we get this fixed, the better."

Sean nodded. "Morning, Hanna. I'm sorry this happened during your anniversary weekend, I know how much you were looking forward to it.", Sean answered, closing the door behind him. She glared at him as subtly as she could; he wasn't sorry and she knew it.

"Well, just tell me how to fix this. What papers do I have to sign?", Hanna asked, and Sean produced a file folder from behind his back.

"Actually, I was going over some of the paperwork with Ben and some of the other councillors last night and we found your file.", He said and handed her the scuffed file folder. "It was misfiled under last year's so they didn't know you'd handed it in. The councillors have set everything up for you."

Hanna felt like she was in shock as she looked at the folder. She remained quiet for a long moment, then her mouth set into a thin line. She turned sharp eyes onto Sean. "You mean to tell me that Lucas and I rushed back here on our anniversary weekend to sign these papers, because they HAD to be signed before Monday or I would lose my clinic, and I closed my clinic for today so I could handle this, cancelling several appointments might I add, and you found the paperwork _last night_?"

"It was late when we found it, Hanna. I thought it would be best to give you the news in the morning.", Sean explained. Hanna's manicured hands clenched into fists and she kept them at her sides.

"I don't give a damn if you found it at three in the morning, Sean! You think I got any sleep last night with this hanging over my head?", she demanded. "I thought I was going to lose my livelihood, Sean. The business that I've sank years of education and money in to! You didn't think to maybe call me and let me know? Did that thought even cross your mind?"

"Hanna-" Sean was rapidly beginning to look panicked, like he hadn't expected this outburst of anger from her. She glared.

"No, don't you 'Hanna' me!" She threw the file folder down onto the counter and advanced on Sean like an angry panther, her shoes scuffling softly against the linoleum floor. "You think I don't know what this is really about, Sean? What, do you think I'm stupid? I know you set this up to ruin my anniversary weekend with Lucas, and let me tell you, that is possibly the most immature, mean, spiteful thing I've ever heard of! And I was friends with Alison, so that is saying something!"

"Hanna, just hold on a minute. I know the timing was bad, but I promise you, I didn't plan this.", Sean argued. "No, I'm not happy that you're with Lucas. I've never denied that. But you don't really think I'd hurt you like this, do you Hanna?"

The immediate answer she thought of was 'Yes', but she bit her tongue. Arguing was getting her nowhere, Sean would deny any involvement to the bitter end. She just wanted Sean out of her clinic and out of her life. She sighed and rubbed her forehead.

"So, what needs to be done here? Is this lease thing settled or do I need to go to City Hall?", Hanna sighed, crossing her arms over her chest as she spoke. Sean reached around her and picked up the file folder.

"You don't need to do anything. The councillors have accepted your renewal application. You're free to practice on this property, your clinic is safe, Hanna." Sean offered her a smile that she didn't return.

"That's great then. I need to finish getting things set up in here, so if there's nothing else, you can see yourself out.", Hanna told him bluntly, then walked around the other side of her receptionist's desk.

"Hanna, I am really sorry that this messed up your weekend, I really am.", Sean tried and took a step forward. Hanna's head rose up and she froze him in place with a look.

"Well, thank you for that, but there's nothing to be done about it. Now, if you don't mind?", Hanna asked, nodding towards the door. Sean shrugged and took a step back, then both he and Hanna turned when the door to the clinic opened. Lucas poked his head in and for a split second, Hanna was sure there would be a fight in the middle of her clinic. Lucas' eyes went hard as he looked at Sean, and Sean frowned, saying nothing. "Lucas. What are you doing here? Is something wrong?"

"I saw the police car outside on my way home, Han. I wanted to make sure everything was okay.", Lucas answered, closing the door behind him. He put his hands in his pockets and the two males silently acknowledged each other, neither saying a word for fear punches would end up being thrown.

"Everything is fine. Sean was just coming by to inform me that my paperwork ended up being found after all. Everything was taken care of last night.", Hanna informed him, and she watched carefully for a reaction. Lucas locked angry eyes onto Sean, but just stayed where he was.

"Really. See, Han? I told you everything would work out.", Lucas told her, though his voice said that all he wanted to do was hit something.

"You were right. Well, I guess this means we can safely plan another weekend away, right?", she said with a smile. Lucas smiled back, a genuine smile.

"I'll call them tonight and see when their next weekend opening is. You feel like joining me for lunch later to celebrate? I can see about rounding up the girls.", Lucas offered. "Speaking of, I'm pretty sure Aria, Spencer, Emily and Mike are taking Ellie shopping for her birthday presents this afternoon."

"They are, Spence texted me about it earlier." Along with a not so subtle warning that if Hanna killed Sean, she needed to not get caught, otherwise Spencer would not bring her baby into jail to see her. Hanna knew she wasn't kidding, but was pretty sure she could get away with it. "I was going to meet them at 3 if this was sorted out in time. Guess I can meet them earlier now. Do you want to come with us, Lucas?"

"I would, honey, but I've got to do a run through of the old DiLaurentis place at 3 to make sure I've got all of Toby's specs right. How about lunch, then I drop you off at Aria's before I go?"

Hanna had to hide the grin when she saw Sean's disgruntled expression when he realized that they were talking as if he wasn't even there. "That would be amazing, Luke. Are we getting Ellie separate gifts or should I shop with both of us in mind?"

Lucas laughed. "Han, I'm already locked into taking her and her friends to laser tag next month as a belated birthday present, and I've got her the new Marvel game. We're putting both our names on each gift anyway, aren't we?"

"True enough.", she grinned. She looked at Sean. "I'm sorry, Sean, is there something else we needed to talk about?"

Sean looked insulted, but kept quiet. "No, that's it I think. I'll take these back to City Hall, so you're all set, Hanna. Sorry about all the confusion." Not a word of apology to Lucas. Hanna bristled.

"It's all cleared up now, that's the important thing. Let me show you out." As if she could make it any clearer that she wanted him gone as of yesterday. Hanna walked around the desk and led Sean to the front door. "Thank you for taking care of all of this, Sean, I appreciate it."

"Not a problem, Hanna. Just doing my job.", Sean answered, and Hanna wanted to gag. Self-important, pompous jerk. "I guess I'll be seeing you at Ellie's birthday party next weekend."

"You will? I didn't know Aria invited you." Hanna knew for a fact that Aria hadn't invited him.

"She didn't, but Noal did.", Sean explained. Hanna froze and her jaw dropped.

"Noal? Who the hell gave him the right to invite people to Ellie's party?", Hanna demanded. "Besides, he's not even here anymore."

"Hasn't Aria told you? He's coming back into town for Ellie's birthday."

"Aria hasn't said anything about it. Lucas, has she mentioned this to you?", Hanna asked.

"Not a word. When did this happen?", Lucas asked, walking up behind Hanna and putting a hand on her waist.

"Apparently he emailed Ella a few weeks ago and told her he was coming back into town for Ellie's birthday. I assume Aria knows." Sean shrugged. Aria didn't know, Hanna was sure of it. If she did know, Hanna was pretty sure the petite brunette would have had a heart attack. As far as she knew, Noal hadn't taken an active part in raising Ellie since she was born, but would call her every year on her birthday. It had always incensed Aria, but it'd made Ellie really happy so she hadn't said anything. "He called me last night and asked me to meet up with him when he came back to town."

"And when is he coming back to town?" This was bad. Hanna's hand was clenched around her phone and she was tempted to call Aria right then and warn her about what was coming.

"From what I know, he'll be back Wednesday night. He wants to keep it a secret from Ellie and Aria, so he can surprise them at the party on Friday night.", Sean told them.

Hanna and Lucas shared a look, both of them knowing that Aria wouldn't react well to this type of surprise, and Hanna frowned. "Well, thanks for telling us, Sean. I honestly don't know what to make of it."

"Just don't tell Aria, Hanna. Noal knows he messed up when Ellie was born, but he's finally ready to settle down and be the dad he knows Ellie deserves.", Sean asked her. Hanna frowned, remembering the nights when Aria would cry herself to sleep because she was so overwhelmed with everything, even with her mom, dad and brother's help. She remembered even more clearly all the times Ellie would ask where her daddy was, and the same anger she'd felt then, seeing her niece so upset and her best friend distraught, burned in her chest.

She snapped. "He hurt Aria, and worse, he hurt Ellie. He hurt my niece. I'll be damned if I let him do it again, Sean. I get it, parenthood scared him. It scares everyone, there is no 'How To' manual with kids.", she told him harshly. "If he thinks he can just sail in after leaving them and everything will be fine, he can just think again."

"Hanna, he knows it's not like that. He knows he screwed up, and he's going to do everything he can to make it right."

"He can't make this right, Sean. But, if he wants to try to make amends, more power to him. Aria deserves every apology he can come up with.", Hanna spelled out for him, then took a step forward. "But, you tell him this. If he does anything to hurt Aria or Ellie, and God help him if him showing up ruins Ellie's birthday party next week, I will destroy him, and I will destroy you for helping him."

"She's his daughter, Hanna. He wouldn't hurt her, he loves her. And he's still in love with Aria. All he wants is for them to be a family."

"It took him that long to realize it?", she replied bitterly. "Thank God Ellie takes after Aria."

"Han.", Lucas said quietly. She knew she was being unnecessarily cruel, but so what? Noal had let his fear drive him away from the beautiful little girl he and Aria created. He was a coward as far as Hanna was concerned, and she wouldn't be swayed from that.

"I won't say anything to Aria, but the next time you talk to Noal, tell him that if he doesn't want to get caught in a hurricane when he shows up, he should call Aria and let her know he's coming.", Hanna warned and Sean nodded.

"I'll tell him, and thanks, Hanna."

"I didn't tell you for your sake, or for Noal's. I told you because causing a scene at Ellie's birthday party would ruin it, and I don't want that.", Hanna responded. Sean nodded again and walked out of the clinic without another word, the door shutting behind him. Hanna let out a groan of frustration and put her head in her hands. "Oh my God. Oh my God, Lucas, what have I done? Aria is going to freak. I have to tell her, I have to-"

"Hanna! Han! Calm down and look at me, honey.", Lucas said to her and took both of her hands in his. "Now, be reasonable here. If you tell Aria, don't you think Ellie is going to know something is up? That girl is scarily astute."

"But Aria needs to know.", Hanna argued.

"I agree, and I think you should let Noal or Sean or her mom tell her. Honey, you're far too close to the situation. You almost ripped Sean's head off just now for defending Noal.", Lucas replied calmly.

"I love Aria and I love Ellie, Lucas. He hurt them so yes, I'm a little defensive. Is that a crime, to care about my best friend and my niece?"

"No, of course not. But, if you tell Aria, you're going to end up getting upset, and that'll make her upset, and before you know it, you'll have Aria in a panic. I think you should just let things settle and be there for her when Aria finds out."

Hanna let out a deep breath, and rested her head against Lucas' shoulder. "I don't like this.", she said to him. "I don't like lying to her."

"I know you don't, but I really do think this is the best solution. As much as I know you'd like to protect them from everything, Han, sometimes you can't."

"I know.", Hanna sighed. She looked up at Lucas, and gave him a tired smile. "If she doesn't know by Tuesday, I'm telling her, Lucas, but you're right. For now, we'll leave it to Ella or Noal to tell her."

Lucas kissed her cheek. "I think that's a good idea. Now, come on. I know a certain gorgeous doctor, and if she can find the time in her busy schedule, I would absolutely love to accompany her to lunch."

Hanna laughed. "I would be honoured, good sir. Let me get my coat and we'll go."

X X X X X X X

Ella climbed out of her car and walked up the stairs to her gallery apartment, her grocery shopping bags hanging from one of her hands. She keyed the door open and called, "Yoo hoo, anybody home?" as she walked in. The smell of coffee met her nose and she wandered into the kitchen to find Ezra sitting at her table, reading an article on his laptop.

"Someone's cheery this morning.", Ezra replied groggily, taking a slow sip of his coffee.

"I'm cheery because we have plans today, so get your butt moving and get ready.", Ella prompted, pouring herself a cup of coffee. "Sleep well?"

"I'm reasonably sure your couch was trying to eat me, but I was so tired after my drive here that I didn't really care.", Ezra answered, looking the image of exhaustion as he sat at the coffee table in plaid pyjama pants and an old t-shirt.

Ella laughed, then put away the few things she'd gone out to get – Bread, eggs, bacon, milk. She looked at her friend. "Yeah, Shelly tends to do that."

"'Shelly'?" Ezra's eyebrow arched. "You named your couch?"

"Ellie did, actually, when she was five. Completely different couch, but the name stuck.", Ella explained and Ezra laughed.

"She's definitely Aria's daughter.", Ezra commented. He stopped and looked at her. "You said something about us having plans for today?"

"I did.", Ella agreed. "You and I are going shopping for Ellie's birthday present. The party is next week, so you'll need to bring something, but we should have plenty of time."

Ezra almost choked and set his coffee cup back on the table top. "Ellie's birthday party? Ella, I can't – That would put Aria in such an awkward position. I can't just show up."

"You aren't just showing up, you're coming as my guest and an old friend of the family." Ezra snorted and she shot him a look. "Shush. And besides, all of Ellie's teachers have known her since childhood and will probably be making an appearance over the course of the party. It's not a big deal, Ezra."

"How many of Ellie's teachers were in love with her mom, Ella?" Ezra winced. "On second thought, don't answer that. The point is, Aria would know it was me when I walked in. I can't just spring that on her."

"So talk to her about it over the course of the week. Chances are you'll be running into her sometime in the near future." Ella took a sip of her coffee to hide her smirk, her eyes going to the phone in her purse. Aria had sent her a text telling her that she, Emily, Hanna, Spencer, Mike and Ellie would be at Rosewood Mall within the next half hour shopping for Ellie's presents, and Ella's plan was formed.

She made up her mind as she stood in the dairy section of the supermarket that she would get the ball rolling on her daughter's eventual reconciliation with Ezra, and it would begin that day at the shopping mall. Ezra would be within ten feet of her daughter and granddaughter, and Aria would see the teacher who'd stolen her heart or so help Ella, she would scream.

She'd sent her son a text telling him to keep Ellie very well distracted, and that had led to a series of questions which resulted in Ella telling Mike her plan – Ezra was back in town, he was staying at Ella's apartment until he found a place of his own, he was still very much in love with Aria, and he and Ella would be at Rosewood Mall that afternoon to buy a present for Ellie, hopefully resulting in Aria and Ezra coming face to face with each other for the first time in fifteen years.

Mike had actually called her while she was grocery shopping and asked if she was insane; Aria was still getting over Ezra, he argued. Seeing him again would throw her for a massive loop. Ella just shushed him and told him to stop worrying and leave it to her, but Mike was adamant that this not hurt his sister or his niece. Ella was both proud of and annoyed with her son in that moment; he was loyal as hell to his sister, but that wasn't a good thing just then. Eventually, after much brow beating, Mike relented, but said that it was on her head when Aria found out and all hell broke loose. Ella was positive it wouldn't come to that, but accepted it all the same.

She heard Ezra sigh and looked over at him. He looked like he'd aged ten years just sitting there. She nudged him with her foot. "This is why you came back, Ezra, to try to get Aria back. You knew it wouldn't be easy when you got into this.", she said quietly.

"I know, I just thought I'd have more time to prepare.", he agreed. Ella laughed.

"Ezra, believe me, I know you when Aria is involved. You could have all the time in the world and it still wouldn't prepare you for her. Just take a deep breath and dive in; you'll never know if you don't."

"You're annoyingly persuasive, you know that, Ella?", Ezra sighed with a smile, the pushed his hair back from his eyes. "Alright, what the hell? Let me get changed and then we'll head off. This had better be one amazing present."

**AN: I've actually missed writing Ezra and Ella, they're so much fun. **

**Next up: The mall, and we learn whether or not Aria and Ezra meet once again. Also, I may find a way to foreshadow a new pairing I'm working on in this... Let's see if anyone picks up on it in the next chapter. =P**

**Til next time, loves! As always, thank you for taking the time to read, and have a great night. **

**Much love,  
Oracle. **


	18. Sunday Pt 3 Some kind of wonderful

**AN: Hi! I'm sorry this has taken so long, everybody, I've been knee deep in school. Finals are kicking my ass. But, here you are, another chapter of "Hopeless"! I had intended to only hint at a new pairing in this chapter, but apparently the characters didn't agree with me because it isn't very subtle. There's only one more ****chapter of the Sunday arc, and after that, we move onto the weekdays. I'm excited; Monday is going to be interesting. **

**This chapter mainly deals with our favourite Liars and their preparations for Ellie's birthday, and Mike gets some screen time this time around. =) I had contemplated bringing Toby back in this chapter, but I've got something better in store for him. He'll be back Monday, I promise. **

**Anyway, that's about it. Thank you guys so, so much for all the input you've sent me. I really appreciate it, and I'm glad people still read this. =P**

**Enjoy!**

Ellie and Spencer were having a ball in the toy store, Hanna and Emily were talking all about Hanna's foiled weekend away and Emily's upcoming 'Not a date' with Toby ("Even though it totally is.", "Shut up, Hanna!"), and Aria just sat in the middle of the chaos, a smile on her face and listening to her daughter laugh. She felt Emily turn to her when Spencer called Hanna from the toy store, telling her to come and see something. Aria looked and saw Hanna hurry over to where Spencer and Ellie stood, then turned to Emily.

"Thanks for coming with us today, Em. I know your parents come home tonight.", Aria told her and Emily smiled.

"I can't say no to that kid of yours, Aria. When I told her I might not be able to make it, the look on her face made me determined to be here, come hell or high water.", Emily laughed. "I'll be home with plenty of time to get ready for my parents coming home, and Maya is helping me make dinner so it'll be fine."

"Oh yeah? Has she heard from Ben, by the way?", Aria asked.

"Not that she's mentioned, but he's due back in town tonight. Maya hasn't really talked about him that much. She did tell me about something interesting that happened last night though.", Emily answered. Aria's eyebrow arched and she looked on expectantly. "She told me that Jason DiLaurentis called her at home last night and asked her to set up a special delivery for first thing this morning."

"I didn't know Jason had a romantic side. Or a human side either, for that matter.", Aria commented, her interest in the gossip piqued.

"I didn't either, but according to Maya, he sent flowers to Jenna."

"Wow. Jenna? That's… Definitely something.", Aria exhaled. "Did Maya say what they were for? Was there a note?"

"No note, just the standard stuff. 'To Jenna, from Jason.', from what Maya said. She did say that he sounded kind of nervous, and her delivery guy told her that Jenna hadn't been thrilled with the delivery."

"Hm. I wonder what happened there.", Aria mused. She looked around, then asked, "Speaking of mysteries, did you see where my brother went, Emily? I swear, he's worse than my kid. I take my eyes off of him for a minute and I lose him completely."

"If your kid wasn't totally awesome, I'd take offense to that, sis.", a voice said from behind them. Aria turned in her seat and saw Mike walk up behind her, his hands filled with shopping bags from the sports store. "I just had to pick up a few things for my classes this week, did I miss anything?"

"Not really. What'd you get?", Aria asked, peeking into the bags after he set them down.

"Nothing for you, so don't worry about it.", he chided, moving the bags onto Emily's other side. When Ellie let out a shrill cry of delight from the toy store, scaring her mother half to death in the process, Emily's quick eye caught a glimpse of a leather bound book tucked inside some wrapping paper. That, she knew, was no book for a kick boxing class. She gave Mike a look and he winked, then mimed for her to keep her lips zipped. Emily just shook her head and smiled; a surprise for Aria then.

For all their fights and clashing personalities, Aria and Mike had a really great relationship. Not many brothers would move in with their older sister when she was pregnant and stay with her to help raise the child, but Mike had without a second thought. He'd been in college at the time and when he found out Noal skipped town, he'd moved out of his apartment into the old family house without question.

Before Aria could continue quizzing her brother, Ellie came out of nowhere and tackled her uncle, and Mike grabbed her by the waist then lifted the laughing now thirteen year old into the air. The sight made both Aria and Emily laugh, and Emily thought back to high school to when Mike started acting out, and then considered the adult Montgomery before her. It made her head spin to realize that her best friend's nosy little brother was now a grown man. She also felt really old, since she could remember playing basketball with Mike when he was four (Well, by basketball she meant passing the ball to each other, but it still counted).

"Missy, what do you think you're doing?", Mike asked, grinning at his niece. "I thought I told you to pick out whatever you wanted for your birthday."

"I did, auntie Spence bought it for me.", Ellie replied, smiling while her uncle kept her up in the air. Mike gave a fake expression of horror towards Spencer when she and Hanna walked over, and the tall brunette just shrugged with a smile.

"Sorry, pal. You snooze, you lose.", Spencer replied to the unspoken accusation. Mike opened his mouth and then was struck silent as he looked over Spencer's shoulder. Aria missed the expression as she listened to Ellie telling her about the new skateboard Spencer bought her for her birthday, but both Emily and Spencer saw it and looked over. They glanced at the crowd around them and then looked back at each other in confusion when they saw Mike's expression turn from white as a sheet to rigid. He looked furious. Ellie seemed to notice her uncle going completely silent and shook his shoulder. Mike's eyes snapped back to Ellie and he forced a smile.

"Then I'll just have to do one better.", Mike challenged then set Ellie back on the ground. "Hey, El, I've got an idea. Why don't we go drop these bags off in the car and get ice cream? Give your mom and aunts a chance to shop around?"

All Ellie needed to hear was "ice cream" and she was sold, hugging her mom and aunts goodbye and leading her uncle off to the parking lot, acknowledging her mother's warning not to spoil her dinner with a wave of her hand as she walked away. As Aria made some comment about how her brother was a terrible influence on her daughter all the while trying not to laugh, Emily and Spencer exchanged puzzled looks. They knew they hadn't been seeing things; something had pissed Mike off, and badly if his expression was any indication.

Hanna laughed and told her she was worrying too much, and Spencer walked quietly beside Emily. "What was that all about?", she asked.

"I have no idea, but I think we should find out.", Emily answered quietly. "Did you see Mike's expression?"

"Yeah. The last time I saw him that mad, Noal had just left Aria.", Spencer replied, and the idea struck the two at the same time. They both knew Noal called every year for Ellie's birthday, and that so far, Aria hadn't heard a word from him that whole day. "You don't think Noal –"

"It wouldn't be the dumbest thing he's ever done.", Emily replied. "But Aria would have told us if that was the case."

"Not if she doesn't know.", Spencer denied. Emily opened her mouth, then Aria looked away from Hanna at the two of them.

"What are you two whispering about?", Aria asked. Both Emily and Spencer smiled nervously, which Aria picked up on immediately. "What is it? I know that look."

"Aria, you haven't heard from Noal yet today, have you?", Spencer asked. Aria frowned in confusion.

"No, which is weird. He usually calls in the morning before I can pretend to miss his call.", she replied. "Why do you ask?"

"He hasn't texted you or anything? About coming in to town?", Emily asked and Aria's eyes went wide. Hanna sat beside her on a bench and looked panicked at the mention of Noal coming into town.

"No, I haven't heard anything about anything like that. Why? Have you?", Aria demanded.

"No, but Mike – He was just acting really strangely. Like he was when Noal first left you.", Spencer explained delicately. The memory of that still stung Aria and they all knew it.

"Guys, we're being a little paranoid, aren't we?", Hanna asked, laughing slightly. Emily noted that her hands were clenching around the edge of the bench. "Maybe Mike's just having an off day."

Maybe it was pre-conditioning, but Emily wanted to scoff and say, 'In Rosewood? No such thing.', but kept her mouth shut. A was gone, they were safe, but there were days when Emily would swear she was being watched. It was paranoia and she knew it but it didn't change the fact.

"Maybe. It's just kind of weird that Noal hasn't called yet, isn't it? I mean, he's usually like clockwork. I'm pretty sure I can set my watch by his yearly phone call.", Spencer spoke up.

"He might just be busy.", Hanna shot back. "Besides, who cares either way? This isn't about him, this is about Ellie."

"Hanna's right.", Emily agreed, intersecting a coming argument between Spencer and Hanna. "I need to find something to get her and I'm coming up blank."

"I know what you mean. Everyone is getting her art stuff, my mom and dad got her signed up for professional lessons this summer as her gift, Spence, you and Mike are getting her sports equipment. Other than clothes and money, I can't think of anything else a thirteen year old kid would want.", Aria continued.

"Me neither. We could go to the novelty shop.", Hanna suggested. "Between the four of us, I'm sure we can find something to blow that girl's mind."

"For sure, let's go.", Aria agreed. The four walked down to the escalator, and Aria felt a prickling sensation spread down the back of her neck. She turned her head upwards and to the left as the escalator took them down to the first floor, and her eyes scanned the balcony that hung overhead. She knew that that balcony and railing lined the food court, so reasonably that feeling could be coming from anywhere. She hadn't felt safe in Rosewood since Alison's funeral, since the day the first text arrived.

She felt another prickling and put a hand to the back of neck, forcing her head to go back. It took only a second but her eyes caught a glance of a face she hadn't seen in fifteen years, and it was enough to make her heart stop for a moment. She jerked and looked back, trying to catch another glimpse. Her eyes went wide as she looked around. There was no way. That wasn't – It couldn't be.

"Aria?", Spencer asked, touching her shoulder gently. Aria jumped in surprise, then looked at the three girls around her.

"What is it?", Emily asked in concern.

"This is going to sound crazy, but I would swear I just saw Ezra."

Hanna, Spencer and Emily looked shocked, and Spencer asked, "Ezra as in...?"

"How many Ezras have I dated, Spencer?", Aria bit out, her eyes scanning the balcony at a frantic pace. "Like I said, it's crazy, but I was looking right at him."

"Aria, I thought he left. He said he was never coming back to Rosewood.", Hanna asked.

"I know that, but I just saw him!", Aria insisted.

"Aria, this is a hard day for you. You're probably tired, babe.", Hanna tried to calm her. Aria sighed and said nothing else, just putting her arms across her chest while her hand held onto her purse strap.

Emily looked around and saw no one that looked like Ezra Fitz as she remembered him. There was no one she could see, but that didn't mean they weren't there. She had never been a big believer in coincidence, and A had confirmed that things very rarely were coincidence. She wondered what the chances were that this was another coincidence: Toby coming back, Sean's meddling, Aria seeing someone who looks like Ezra, and the possibility of Noal coming back?

'What do you want with us now?', Emily asked whatever higher power was listening. It seemed like they could never catch a break. She sighed, and smiled at Spencer when she caught the similar expression on her face. Whatever it was, it could bring everything it had. They'd face it together.

X X X X X X X X X

Mike's sides hurt from laughing at Ellie as she recounted the story of Aria's attempt at baking that morning. It resulted in a kitchen filled with flour, icing sugar and his dad's face being covered in frosting from a poorly placed whisk.

"You should have seen grandpa's face, uncle Mike! It was hilarious, I thought Mom was going to cry, she was laughing so hard.", Ellie recounted enthusiastically, her ice cream dish perching precariously in her right hand. The two were sitting in the mall food court with ice cream, just talking about anything that came to mind, and looking at the spectators in the mall over the balcony. Mike had seen Aria, Spencer, Hanna and Emily going down the escalator, and something had freaked his sister out bad if her expression was anything to go by. It worried Mike; Aria rarely got scared. Angry, yes. Worried, sure. Pale, 'Deer In the Headlights' scared? Never. That wasn't his sis.

"Sorry I missed it. Damn work, calling me in.", Mike laughed. He didn't usually work weekends, as all of his classes were during the week, but one of the teams he coached in his spare time called him in early that morning due to an injury one of the guys sustained during practice. It hadn't been serious (a broken nose. That'll teach him to try to catch a football with his face, Mike though.), but seeing that much blood would freak anybody out so he didn't mind being called in to drive the injured party into the hospital just to be on the safe side. "Did the cake taste alright?"

"The cake was great, but totally not worth cleaning up the entire kitchen. You know how hard it is to get flour out of floor tiles?", Ellie asked, sounding completely serious as she ate her ice cream. Mike laughed again.

"I can imagine. How's your ice cream, kid?", Mike asked, taking a bite of his sundae.

"Amazing. Thanks for this, uncle Mike. I love mom and aunt Spence, aunt Hanna and aunt Emily, but sometimes they're a little much. I couldn't get a minute away from aunt Spence in that store, and then aunt Hanna came over and they started talking about baby stuff. ", Ellie answered, giving her uncle a smile. "And mom has been walking on egg shells all day. It's just a little much. I wish dad would just hurry up and call so things can go back to normal."

Mike choked on a bite of his ice cream while he laughed, then coughed and looked at his niece. "What makes you say that, kid?", he choked out.

"I don't know, it's like… Every year around my birthday, they get really fidgety, and mom always gets so sad.", Ellie said with a sigh. Mike suddenly didn't think he liked where this was going. "I don't know, I just get tired of them trying so hard to make this time of the year so big and spectacular."

"Ellie, it's your birthday. Of course it's a big day for your mom and your aunts.", Mike pointed out. Ellie gave him a look that was all Aria, and Mike went silent.

"Uncle Mike, I know what happened with mom and my dad. He left after I was born. Do they think I'm stupid or something?", Ellie asked, sounding more frustrated by the moment. Mike bit his tongue and waited. He had a feeling this had been weighing on Ellie for a while now. It had been hanging over his sister's head for long enough. "It's like they think I don't realize my dad only calls on my birthday. Like I'm oblivious."

Mike sighed, placing his plastic spoon in his ice cream tray, then looked at his niece. Ellie looked identical to Aria except for her eyes; those were all Noal, unfortunately. In every other way, his niece was a miniature version of his sister and Mike was usually thankful for that. Seeing his niece – his sister's baby girl – so upset over the fact that her father's call upset her mom so much made Mike fume. He'd said some very unkind words about Noal when everything first happened, most of which he said again in voicemails he left on the wannabe rocker's phone. Aria told him not to bother, that she'd be fine on her own, but Mike hadn't listened and moved in with his parents and sister the month after he found out Noal was gone.

"Ellie, your mom just worries you get hurt when your dad calls.", Mike told her. He'd always been honest – perhaps brutally so – with his niece, and in return, she'd grown up knowing that she could always talk to him about anything and always get the truth. Aria tried to be careful around her daughter, which was such a switch for his assertive, strong sister that it kind of made his head spin, so Mike figured it fell to him as the cool uncle to do what he thought was best for his niece and be the counter point to his sister.

"He just calls to wish me a happy birthday. I don't see what the big deal is.", Ellie answered somewhat sulkily.

'It's a big deal because he didn't have the balls to step up before, and now sis is worried he'll come back. If he comes back and you get attached, it'll kill you if he decides to leave again. If only you knew how much your mom loves you.', Mike thought to himself, but picked his words carefully. "El, your mom and dad didn't part on good terms, you know that. Your mom hasn't forgiven him for leaving you two when you were born. Can you blame her for being worried about this upsetting you?"

"Then I wish she'd at least talk to me about it. It's like mentioning dad is a forbidden thing in the house, uncle Mike." That's because it was. Ellie sighed. "I just wish mom would talk to me. We talk about everything else but whenever I ask her about this, I always get, 'We'll talk about it when you're older, Ellie'. How old do I have to be to have a conversation with my mother?"

Mike kind of pitied whoever his niece wound up dating. His sister really had spawned a mini-her, and when she was old enough to date (Mike refused to think that, technically, she was old enough), she'd probably be more mature than them by half. They'd been in for one hell of a heart break, if he and her aunts didn't interrogate him to death first. "El, maybe you should take your mom's advice on this one.", Mike told her gently. Ellie opened her mouth to protest, and Mike finished the thought. "I know you want to know everything about it, but trust me, there's nothing to tell. You know the entire story."

"That's not true. I don't know how to keep Mom from getting sad because of all of this. I don't like my mom being sad.", Ellie argued.

"I don't either, kid, but there are things we can't protect her from. This is one of them.", Mike told her. "Just don't worry, Ellie. Your mom has survived worse than this. Just enjoy your birthday and spend time with your mom. That'll make her happy, believe me."

Ellie gave him a slight smile, and Mike counted that as a win. "Okay, uncle Mike. Thanks. And don't call me kid, I'm thirteen!"

"It's my job.", Mike shrugged, then grinned at her. "El, I don't care if you're a hundred and thirteen. You're always gonna be 'Kid' to me. Get used to it."

Ellie stuck her tongue out at him and Mike laughed. Ellie grinned at him, then he saw her glance over his shoulder and smile wide. Mike turned and saw Jenna Cavanaugh walking out of the music store beside the food court.

"Jenna! Over here!", Ellie all but yelled, waving her arms. Jenna caught sight of the loud teenager and waved, then made her way over. Mike just shook his head at his niece and waved in greeting as Jenna approached their table. "Jenna! What are you doing here?"

"Hello to you too, Ellie.", Jenna laughed when the thirteen year old launched at her in a hug. The young girl clung to her and Jenna wrapped her arms around her. "Happy birthday, beautiful! Sorry I didn't get to call you earlier."

"Thanks! And that's okay, you're here now.", Ellie answered, smiling up at her. Jenna smiled and nodded at Mike over the top of Ellie's head and Mike returned the gesture. "What are you doing here, Jenna? I thought you were at the studio."

"I was but your aunt Emily closed up shop early to come and take a very special girl shopping for her birthday. How's that going, by the way? I don't see your mom and aunts anywhere.", Jenna asked, being literally pulled into the seat across from Mike by Ellie, who sat on the edge of Jenna's seat.

"I decided to take one for the team and give them some time away from this teenaged dynamo.", Mike explained, grinning at her. Jenna laughed, then observed the dishes of ice cream on the table.

"By giving an already hyper teenager ice cream? Aria will be thrilled.", Jenna said laughing.

"She's the one who decided to bring her here and give the kid a choice of what she gets for her birthday. I suggested a rock, but Aria thought that was medieval.", Mike responded, shaking his head then smiling jokingly when Ellie elbowed him.

"How noble of you. So, what have you talked your aunts into buying you, birthday girl?", Jenna asked.

"I didn't talk them into buying me anything. They asked what I wanted and told me to pick; what was I supposed to do?", Ellie asked, and that was Hanna all over. Both Jenna and Mike had to stifle a snicker. "And, auntie Spence bought me a new skateboard."

"What happened to your old one?", Jenna asked.

"I broke it when I was at the skate park the other day.", she replied sullenly.

"Oh, Ellie. Wait, what were you doing that would break a skateboard?", Jenna asked, sounding surprised.

"Just some tricks. Some guys at the park bet me I couldn't, so I decided to prove them wrong." The shrug that accompanied that made Ellie look identical to her mother. It was still a little unnerving.

"If I recall correctly, her mother gave this little stunt double a good talking to.", Mike commented. Aria had panicked when Ellie came in the door, scratched up to high hell and holding the cracked board and front wheel but grinning with pride because of the trick she'd pulled off before breaking the board.

"Wow. You're going to be a hellion when you get your license.", Jenna commented, ruffling Ellie's hair.

"Mom said that too! She also said I wasn't getting my own car until I was in college.", Ellie added.

"Probably wise of her.", Jenna laughed.

Ellie launched into an explanation of something she and Jenna had been talking about during the last swim meeting, and Mike just sat in silence, listening. He shouldn't be surprised that his niece was the reason a friendship blossomed between his sister, her friends and the formerly blind girl, but considering how much enmity there'd been between them in high school, it wasn't surprised. It had been a long awkward road, but because of Ellie – and in part because their mom had been the one to take Mrs. Cavanaugh to the hospital when she collapsed at their mom's gallery – they'd managed to build past "the Jenna thing".

He didn't even realize he'd been staring at Jenna as she laughed at Ellie's story until he heard someone clear their throat beside him. He looked over and saw a face he hoped he'd never have to see again. Jason DiLaurentis was standing beside their table, observing the scene with what Mike would call a very tightly controlled glare, his hands in his pockets. Mike glanced over at Jenna and saw her looking at Jason with a mix of apprehension and annoyance.

"Well. This looks cozy.", Jason commented, and Ellie then realized they had a visitor. She glanced at her uncle, who didn't say anything, and Ellie stayed where she was.

"Jason. To what do we owe the honour?", Jenna asked, and there was acid under her words.

"I was just passing by on my break when I saw you, Jenna, so I thought I'd stop by and say hello. Since you never did come by the office so we could talk.", Jason replied evenly.

"About that. Sorry, I had work to do and it took a little longer than expected.", Jenna answered. "Thank you for the flowers, by the way. They're lovely." Mike started, feeling a little like he'd just received a static shock. Flowers? What flowers?

"I'd been hoping for more than just 'lovely', but I'll take it." Mike heard that and could only imagine what Jason had been hoping for. He frowned firmly at the oldest DiLaurentis sibling. "And you're welcome. I'd expected you to come by the office so we could talk about that."

"Like I said, I was busy.", Jenna told him.

"Then what about now? It wouldn't take long." Jason sounded entirely too hopeful and Mike wanted to tell him to get lost, that Jenna clearly didn't want to talk. They'd been having fun before he showed up.

"Sorry, Jason, I've already made plans.", Jenna denied, offering a sympathetic smile. Mike could practically hear Jason's ego cracking from where he sat, and had to fight not to snicker.

"With Aria's brother?", Jason asked. The outrage in his voice made the resentment worth it, as far as Mike was concerned.

Jenna smiled, but it wasn't the same smile she'd given Ellie. It was a smile made of blades, and it was aimed at Jason. "No, with Ellie. It's her birthday today, so the three of us were going to see a movie.", Jenna explained. They'd had no such plans but Mike was more than willing to go with it.

"Really. Well, happy birthday, Ellison.", Jason said, his first words to the teenager. Ellie said thank you but not another word. Jason looked at Mike, and there was contempt in that look. "The three of you, hm?"

"Yeah, I'm watching Ellie today while Aria makes the rest of the plans for the birthday party.", Mike explained.

"Right. That's Friday, isn't it?", Jason asked casually. Mike wanted to hit him. If he thought he would do anything to ruin his niece's birthday party, there would be all manner of hell to pay.

"That's right. It's gonna be a pretty big event, my sister has gone all out.", Mike answered.

"I'm sure it will be, your sister never goes halfway.", Jason acknowledged. "Well, Jenna. If you've got some time, come by the office this week."

"I'll see. I think Toby wants to talk to you anyway, so we'll probably come by.", Jenna said reluctantly. Jason nodded, a smile tight on his lips.

"Then I'll be seeing you all in due time. Enjoy your birthday, Ellie.", Jason said to them and walked away. Jenna watched him go with a cross look on her face, then sighed as the doors shut behind him.

"Jenna?", Ellie asked quietly. Jenna looked over at her and smiled sadly. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, honey. I'm fine. Sorry about that, I didn't expect him to be here.", Jenna said quietly.

"Don't worry about it.", Mike told her. She looked up at him and Mike gave her a bright smile, which was slightly returned.

"I think I should head home. Long day tomorrow.", Jenna told them, and moved to stand up.

"No, Jenna, stay a while!", Ellie pleaded, giving Jenna a sad expression.

"Ellie-"

"She's right, Jenna. You should stay. You already said we have plans to go see a movie, didn't you?", Mike asked, grinning at her. Jenna gave him a puzzled look, then smirked faintly.

"Are you sure?"

"It'll be so much fun! Come on, Jenna, please?", Ellie asked. Jenna gave her a look, and she shook her head.

"One day, missy, I'm going to learn to say no to that look.", Jenna promised then sighed. "I'd love to, let's go."

"I will wait for that day because I've yet to meet anyone who can say no to our Ellie.", Mike laughed, the three standing from the table. "Let's go find out what movies are playing and I'll text your mom and let her know what's happening."

"Sounds good." Ellie walked in front of them, looking back at Jenna as they walked to the escalator, and Mike and Jenna walked side by side. Ellie seemed determined to cheer Jenna up, and Mike sent off a text to Aria telling her that they'd run into Jenna. He'd left out the information about Jason, but Aria had been fine with them going to see the movie. She and the girls were knee deep in shopping for Ellie, so keeping her distracted was a good plan.

When they reached the bottom floor of the mall, Mike caught a sight of his mom standing in a book store, and there was a man who was about as tall as her standing beside her. Mike did a double take, then saw the side of his face. Ezra Fitz. He'd been dreading this part of his mom's plan the entire day, and had done everything he could to be as far away from his sister as he could.

He wanted no part of his mom's plan; he'd made that very clear. If Ezra met Aria again, Mike wouldn't have any hand in it. He loved his mom and his sister, but he didn't agree with this plan. Aria was still getting over Ezra fifteen years later, goddamn it. It didn't take parental instincts to know that his mom's plan was bad, but apparently he was the only one who could see that.

"You okay?", Jenna asked quietly, nudging him gently with her arm. Mike looked over and had the strange thought that her eyes were really pretty. Her glasses made them look like they sparkled.

Mike shook his head slightly, then grinned at her. "Yeah, sorry. I'm fine. You?"

Jenna looked at Ellie as she walked, then smiled back at Mike. "I'm much better now than I was earlier.", Jenna answered. Ellie called to them when she saw the movie theatre, seeing a movie that she apparently wanted to see. Mike and Jenna had matching grins as they stood in front of the theatre, and even though his sister was probably going to be really hurt when she found out that Ezra was back, for that moment, it was a good day.

**AN: See? About as subtle as a 2x4 to the face, but I like them. I don't know why but they appeal to me for some reason. Hope you enjoyed it, guys. (And fellow Ezria fans, if you still read this, don't worry - We'll be seeing much more of Ezra come Monday morning. It is the first day of the school year, after all.)**

**So, next chapter is the last one of the Sunday arc, and it'll focus on Emily and the return of her parents from their vacation. Things get... interesting. Also, we won't be seeing Noal until the Wednesday chapters. We'll be hearing a lot about him, but he won't actually make an appearance until then. Also um... You guys might hate me just a little bit by the end of Wednesday. =/ I won't say anything else, but... A lot of stuff goes down between now and Ellie's birthday party. Everything kind of explodes on Wednesday.**

**Thanks for reading, everyone! I really do appreciate it! **

**Much love,  
Oracle. (L) **


	19. Sunday Pt 4 Time for the reckoning

**AN: I'm so, so sorry this has taken so long! I've been up to my knees in school work and just really unmotivated to write this, but I wanted to get this out of the way. I kind of rushed the last little bit but I wanted to let Lucas have some screen time in this chapter just to kind of set up some foreshadowing. It'll be clear why soon. I wanted to get this out before the UnmAsked episode aired tonight, and so I can remind everybody that this is AU, and regardless of who A is in the show, they will remained unnamed in this story.**

**That being said, as far as the television A goes, my money is on either Maya, Noel, Caleb, Mona or a combination of the four. To be clear, I've recently developed the theory that the one who's been harassing the girls with this whole A business is entirely separate from who was harassing Alison and who she was contacting. I think there's been some overlap and the two story lines have gotten twisted, but I don't think the person who was threatening Alison and who "killed" her is the same person/group who is now harassing the girls. But, I do have a couple reasons as to why I've narrowed down my pool of A suspects, and why some of the theories don't work.**

**I don't think it's Melissa - She might know who it is and be involved with it, she might know something about it, but I sincerely doubt she's A. I think Ian was definitely involved, and when Melissa got pregnant he backed out, hence why he died and why Melissa is acting so freaky now.**

**The idea that it's Ezra just makes me laugh, but by that token, they might pull a "Scream" with Ezria and have Ezra be the psycho stalker and sleeping with Aria was just the final nail in the psychological coffin. Again, he might be implicated, but I doubt he was the one who started it all.**

**Do I think it's Lucas? The better question is: "Would I be surprised if it was Lucas?" No, and that's why I think he's not A. They pinned the destruction of the memorial on him, which made sense - He hated Alison, he saw her as a monster. Him being A wouldn't make sense to me; Why would he become the monster he hated?**

**Caleb just strikes me as suspicious, and not simply because he completely sank the HannaLucas ship that'd been going. I just don't like him, I don't trust him, I don't like that he accepted money from Jenna to get close to Hanna. I just do not like him, and I wouldn't be surprised if he was A/ a part of A because how else would the numbers used be hidden from the girls? He was introduced to the girls because he is a tech genius; it's not a stretch to think that he might be able to do some freaky stuff with a phone, including some of the things A has done. (Though, realistically, do none of these girls have caller ID on their phone? Why didn't they just call the number the first time one of the texts arrived? I don't know how it is for other phones, but whenever I get a text from someone not in my contact's list, I can see their phone number, so logically, if the girls have the same capability, why didn't they just call the phone and confront this bitch head on the first time this happened?)**  
**And then there's Toby. Now, I don't think Jenna is A; on the show, she's an evil bitch, but I don't think she's A. I think she knows who A is, and has her own secrets to be revealed, but I don't think she's the one responsible. (Again, I could be wrong - She could have killed Alison herself.) Toby, on the other hand... I don't know. They've kind of hinted that he's changed a lot since he came back so he might get involved with A, just to fuck with Spencer's head, or he might kill himself. I hope not, and I hope they don't kill him off, but he did die in the books so I wouldn't be surprised if they did. Of course, by that I also shouldn't be surprised if Mona dies or is involved with A.**

**I just don't think Jason is involved. Period. At all. I don't know that much about him in the show, or about the whole 'Jason's is Spencer's half brother' thing, but he just doesn't strike me as the type. I don't doubt that he's creepy as fuck, and I don't doubt that he's involved in some creepy stuff, but I do doubt that he's A.**

**Why am I discussing all of this with you, dear reader? I don't know, it has nothing to do with the way this story will end. I just want to give my ideas on who the masked psycho could be. In any event, enjoy the last chapter of Sunday, and be prepared for Monday! I'll be posting it after UnmAsked, probably a couple days after just to wait for the backlash to die down, and we'll get into the new chapters, including more Ezra! =)**

**So, enjoy everyone! And may tonight's episode not break your heart.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

Emily jumped as the timer on the top of the oven let out a shrill beep, reminding her of the pot roast she'd been cooking. She glanced as the counter clock as she donned a pair of oven mitts, noting that her parents would be coming home in less than an hour. Pam and Wayne called from their rest stop two hours before and told their daughter that they'd been making fantastic time from their vacation spot, a cabin her father had rented for them outside of town as a surprise for her mom. Wayne told his daughter about it and asked her to keep quiet, and that was one secret Emily was okay with keeping.

Her mother had been full of stories, promising to tell them all to Emily when they returned home, and Emily was honestly excited. Now that her father was home for good, he and her mom could spend more time getting to know each other again, and Emily couldn't have been happier. Her mother was as tough as nails, but being without her father – her best friend – for so long had taken a toll on Pam. She was glad they were taking time for themselves now, since they'd spent her teenage years dividing themselves for both work and Emily herself.

"Knock, knock! Em, you in here?", Maya's voice called from the front door, and Emily heard the door click shut.

"In here, Maya. Come on in.", Emily replied, checking the temperature and putting the roast back in the oven. Maya walked in and settled her coat on a chair, then took a seat.

"Something smells amazing.", Maya commented. "Your mom is going to love this."

"I thought they'd appreciate a nice dinner after being on the road all day.", Emily laughed. "Provided I don't burn everything to a crisp, anyway. What are you doing here this early, Maya? I thought you had work today."

"I'm sure it'll be delicious. And I closed up shop early, it's Sunday. By the way, you won't believe who came in to my shop this morning.", Maya told her. "You need any help with anything?"

"Yeah, would you mind cutting up some of the carrots? I've got the cauliflower ready, and the water's almost boiled.", Emily asked, handing Maya a knife. "And you already told me about Jason sending flowers to Jenna."

"No, this happened after. Mona came in around lunch time." Emily frowned but said nothing. She'd actually managed to put Mona's ugly outburst in the studio out of her mind for a few days. "Don't frown yet, I haven't even told you what she wanted."

"She wanted you to grow her a new personality?", Emily asked, making them both laugh.

"I don't think even I'm that good, so thankfully no. She wanted to know if there were any jobs opening at the shop, apparently a client of hers is coming into town with her son, who is really into gardening. She wanted to set up an co-op position for him to get them some help getting set up in town.", Maya explained.

"And will you?", Emily asked. Mona, being decent? She hadn't known that to happen around anyone but Hanna, and even then it was a mean kind of decent.

"I don't see why not; From what she's shown me the of his portfolio, the kid knows his stuff. Who knows, it could be a good thing.", Maya answered with a shrug. "The only downside is, I'll be spending a lot of time with Mona, and that could end badly."

"You'll be fine. You know how to handle her.", Emily assured her. Emily's head cocked to the side when she heard the lock on the front door click and slide open, then she walked to the kitchen doorway. Her face split into a grin when she saw her dad hauling in a set of suitcases behind him while her mom carried in bags of what looked like souvenirs.

"Emily!", Wayne greeted when his daughter dashed over and hugged him. The suitcases hit the ground and he locked her in a hug.

"Mom, Dad! You're home early. Traffic was good?", Emily asked, hugging her mom while Maya greeted her dad and helped bring the suitcase out of the entry way.

"Traffic was amazing, I've never seen anything like it. We made better time than even your mom thought we would.", Wayne agreed.

"The freeway was empty, but oh, it's good to be home.", Pam sighed, closing the door behind her. "Hi, Maya. I see the house is still standing."

Emily rolled her eyes at the joke. "Somehow I managed. How was the vacation?", she asked.

"Wonderful, we'll tell you all about it during dinner. Speaking of, why does my house smell so amazing?", Pam asked, strolling into the kitchen. "Emily, you and Maya are making dinner?"

"Yeah, I thought it would be a nice surprise for when you two got home, and Ben is in Chicago so I invited Maya for dinner. I may've done something a little different with the pot roast.", Emily admitted while her mom checked everything over.

"Well, it's not burning, so you've got one over on your father.", Pam laughed, choosing to say nothing about Ben, then hugged both Maya and Emily. "Thank you, girls. It was very thoughtful of you, and it smells wonderful. I can't wait."

"Emily did all the work, Mrs. F. I just handed her what she asked for.", Maya answered with a smile. "Your girl has quite a talent."

"Well, she's not just a pretty face, our Emily. How's your weekend been, baby girl? How's the studio?", Wayne asked, he and Pam taking a seat at the kitchen table.

"Really good. I'm meeting with Toby this week to discuss the fliers he made so we should hopefully have those printed and ready to hand out before next weekend.", Emily told them and her parents shared a smug look with one another. Emily rolled her eyes and Maya just smirked, looking away to hide the smile.

"Good good. When you reach a decision, let us see it alright? And how's your shop going, Maya?", Wayne asked.

"Pretty good, Mr. F. I'm really not running short of customers this time of the year.", Maya answered. "I've been hired to do the finishing touches on the garden display at the fireworks exhibit this week."

"Oh, that's right. That's this Wednesday, isn't it?", Pam asked while Emily pulled the roast out of the oven.

"Yeah, the fireworks start at 8. Pretty sure they're going to have a huge turnout, this is supposed to be the last week of decent weather before the temperature starts to drop.", Emily commented.

"It's unfortunate, this summer seemed to fly by. Em, are you going? Ben and I can give you a ride.", Maya offered and Emily's back went straight.

"Uh, yeah, I'm going.", she answered slowly. "Thanks, Maya, but I'm going with Toby and the girls."

Maya frowned at her, hearing the pause in her sentence. "Toby I'll buy, you were telling me about going for dinner with him when he came back from New York, but I know that look, Emily. You're still uncomfortable around Ben, aren't you?", Maya asked.

Emily stayed silent, and her father put the glass he'd been holding down, then exchanged a look with her mother. "What happened with Ben, Emily?", Wayne asked.

Emily turned and avoided her father's eye, then took off her oven mitts. "He showed up here Friday night, after I got in from my night out with Aria, Spencer and Hanna.", Emily told him. Whatever calm had been on her father's face vanished and his hand clenched.

"He came here?", Pam gasped, then got out of her chair and walked over to Emily. "Emily, are you okay? Did he hurt you?"

"No, mom, he just freaked me out a little bit.", Emily admitted.

Wayne cursed quietly, then stood up from his chair. "I'm going to have a talk with him.", he decided.

"Wayne, calm down.", Pam advised. "We'll the police and file a complaint. Violence won't solve this."

"They won't do anything, Pam. That son of a bitch harassed my daughter, and came onto my property when he wasn't wanted or invited. ", Wayne replied.

"And that's trespassing at the very least, we'll press the charges and let the police take it from there.", Pam pressed.

"Dad, don't worry, it's fine.", Emily added. "Toby and Jenna showed up just in time, he won't be coming by here again." Maybe. Ben had told her they weren't finished with that conversation.

Maya spoke up, "Okay, am I missing something here? I know Ben was a jerk and that he had no right scaring Emily like that, but he wouldn't hurt her. He made a stupid mistake and he's going to pay for it."

"You're damn right he will.", Wayne muttered.

"It isn't the first time he's tried something like this, Maya. Toby was there the first time too, thankfully.", Pam told Maya, and Emily winced. Of all the things she'd hoped her mother wouldn't say, that was pretty high on the list.

"What are you talking about?", Maya asked. Wayne and Pam went silent, and all three turned to Emily.

"Emily, haven't you told Maya what happened with you and Ben in high school?", Pam asked.

"She knows we dated.", Emily answered.

"Emily, I can't believe this! You didn't tell her?", Pam asked, shock all over her expression.

"Didn't tell me what?", Maya asked. "Emily?"

Emily closed her eyes and exhaled slowly. "Maya, you'd better sit down.", she said quietly. She and Maya sat on opposite ends of the dinner table, and Emily linked her fingers together. "Look, you know Ben and I dated in high school, and that we didn't have a very clean break up?"

"Yeah, he told me you weren't seeing eye to eye on some things and you both decided it wouldn't work.", Maya answered, looking more nervous as she waited.

"Liar.", Pam whispered, leaning against the kitchen counter with a hand over her mouth. Emily looked at her parents and saw they were both rigid where they stood.

"That's not exactly the truth. We broke up because I wouldn't sleep with him, because I didn't want to sleep with him, and he didn't want to accept that. One night, when I in the locker rooms at school after a swim meet, he tried to make me change my mind.", Emily explained, hoping she wouldn't have to be any more specific. Maya was silent as she worked out the truth of what Emily was telling her, and when it clicked into place, her mouth dropped open and she looked at Emily in sheer horror.

"Oh my God. He… Emily, tell me he didn't.", Maya asked quietly, her eyes wide in shock.

"He tried.", Emily answered. "If Toby hadn't shown up when he did, he probably would have."

"Why didn't you tell me?", Maya demanded. "If I'd known, I'd have never started dating him! Jesus, Emily! I'm – Oh God, I'm dating someone who tried to rape you!"

"Maya, I'm sorry. When we were dating, it didn't matter anymore. I'd handled it and I'd put it out of my mind.", Emily explained. "And when I came back and saw you had started dating him, I didn't know if he'd told you some lie about why we'd broken up, I didn't know if you'd believe me if I told you the truth."

"Of course I'd have believed you, Emily! I trust you with my life! I know you wouldn't lie to me about something that important.", Maya responded fiercely. "That explains why you're never around whenever Ben is home. What else haven't you told me, Emily?"

"Nothing, that's the last of it, I swear. After that, we broke up and until I came back, I haven't to him since. I'm so sorry I didn't tell you, I just didn't know how to.", Emily explained.

Maya put her head in her hands and the four adults waited in silence. Moving suddenly, Maya pulled her cell phone from her jean pocket and began dialling a number.

"Maya?", Pam asked quietly. Maya didn't answer, but then they heard someone on the other end of the phone line pick up.

'_Maya? What's up, babe?_', Ben's voice asked.

"You need to come home right now.", Maya told him.

'_Babe, I won't be home for another two days. You know I'm at a conference._'.

"I don't care, Ben. You need to come back here right now. There are some things we need to talk about.", Maya ordered, her eyes angry as she spoke and her hand clutching the phone.

'_Is everything alright?_', Ben asked, and his voice sounded cautious.

"We'll talk about it when you get back, but no, everything is not alright. Just get back here, the sooner the better.", Maya replied then hung up the phone. She looked at Emily, and there was a wounded expression on her face. "I think I'm going to give dinner a pass, Emily. I need to go home and start packing."

"Maya, wait. You shouldn't be the one to leave, Ben is the one who-", Emily tried.

"Oh, I'm not leaving. My name is on the lease in that apartment. I'm packing up Ben's stuff and it'll be in the front room waiting for him when he gets back. The sooner he's gone, the better.", Maya told her.

"Maya, if you're going to be doing all of that, you should have a good supper. Stay and eat, then Emily and I can go over and help you.", Pam offered.

"Are you sure?", Maya asked.

"Positive.", Emily agreed, nodding to her mother. "Besides, you helped make dinner, you should get to eat it. And, I'm not doing anything tonight, so it'll be a good way to spend the afternoon."

"I'm pretty sure we've got the boxes you brought back with you in the basement, Emily, if you girls want to take those with you.", Wayne suggested. "Now, I don't know about you, but I am starving, and that roast smells too good to let it go cold."

"Agreed, it smells amazing.", Pam replied, taking a seat next to her husband.

"I think that's their way of saying they want us to get dinner ready.", Maya said with a slight laugh. Emily nodded and the two stood from the table and began getting plates and silverware ready.

X X X X X X X

Lucas pulled into the empty driveway of the old DiLaurentis house and cut the power, then stepped out onto the paved driveway. With Hanna out with Aria and Spencer he had some free time on his hands, and he'd received a text from Toby telling him he was going to be back in town by Tuesday. With all the other preparations for Ellie's birthday going on, as well as his actual jobs, Lucas' schedule for the next was packed so he figured he'd take that night and take care of some minor details on Toby's new place.

Jason DiLaurentis had called him that morning and told him the lease had been sent to Toby, signed and witnessed, so the house was his and work could begin on it. Lucas still didn't like the oldest DiLaurentis, but he was a good businessman so Lucas felt he could take his word on it. Pulling the schematics of the security system from the small toolbox he carried, Lucas took out the measuring tape he always carried and began confirming his measurements for the front door.

As he worked, Lucas felt a chill settle on him and he shook his head. It was just the residual creepiness from Alison's old house, he was convinced. Nothing sinister to be found there except a memory, or so he thought until he heard the sound of a car engine shutting off behind him. Lucas checked over his shoulder and saw a green car that he recognized as belonging to Jason DiLaurentis, as well as a black and white cop car which could only represent one person.

Lucas frowned. If it wasn't one thing, it was another. He continued working, and then heard two car doors open and shut. He didn't hear footsteps but he could feel two sets on eyes on him, neither of which seemed to particularly like him. He sighed and settled the tape measure into his toolbox, then glanced back behind him. He saw Sean leaning against the side of his patrol car, and Jason was walking around the front of his car to meet him. Lucas couldn't hear what they were saying, but he had the feeling that it wasn't good.

'There must be something in the water in this town that makes people go nuts.', Lucas thought to himself, then sent a text to Toby telling him that the equipment for his system had arrived and when he got back, they'd be ready to do the final walk through and installation.

Knowing there was nothing else he could do without Toby present, just for insurance's sake, Lucas packed up and headed back to his car. He already had the other measurements but he needed to make sure he had the right parameters for the front door, as it was the first line of defense for the house. While he settled the toolbox into the trunk of his car, he turned around and saw Jason and Sean still watching him. He shook his head and walked to the driver's side door, then offered the two a wave in acknowledgment before shutting the door behind him.

He watched them in his rearview mirror as he drove away, and snickered to himself. Sean was probably still pissed that Hanna had nearly torn his head off, and Lucas guessed he couldn't blame him. The blond bombshell Lucas was lucky enough to be dating had a scary temper, and her loyalty to her friends was even fiercer. If Jason and Sean decided they wanted to interfere with them, he didn't wish them luck, but he did wish them some common sense, because clearly, they had none.

**AN: Yeah, awkward ending. I apologize for that. It'll get better soon. Coming up next, first day of school for Ellie, and one of our favourite Liars finds out that Mr. Fitz is back and teaching Aria's daughter. See you next time!**

Much love, and thanks for reading!  
Oracle. (L)


	20. Update!

Hi everyone!

I know a few of you are going to hate me for this, but I'm not going to be able to update this story until September. =/ I'm on a roadtrip with some family and the wifi is sketchy at best, so while I've got a bunch of chapters written for this story and a few others I have on the go right now, I don't have enough time with internet access to update all of them. I haven't forgotten this story, but it's going to take me a while.

Thank you all for your support in this story, you guys are seriously the greatest. I already have the ending for this planned out and it'll be a happy one for most of the parties involved. As always, any questions, comments or concerns, please feel free to let me know. I have so many reviews for all my stories that I need to reply to, but please, please, please know that I haven't forgotten you and that I really appreciate the support and the enthusiasm for this story. I'm not being rude, I just went from school to exams to traveling with very little time in between. When I get a chance, keep an eye on your inbox for replies.

Right now I'm working on some "A Song of Ice and Fire" fanfics to ease my broken heart at missing the episodes because we have neither cable nor internet at the moment, so those will be coming, and I have a the Monday and Tuesday chapters of "Hopeless" written and waiting.

So, once again, thanks so much for your time and support, guys, it seriously means the world to me. I'll get on the updating as soon as I possibly can, but it will take a while.

Much love, and I hope you're all having a great time, wherever you may be.

Oracle. (L)


End file.
